


Truth, In the Eye of the Beholder

by Buffintruder



Series: Canon era Greedling [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Canon Era, Character Study, Communication, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Greed lives, Grief, Possession, Shenanigans, Unreliable Narrator, aroace!ling, bi!edward elric, but otherwise canon compliant, even if they take a bit to get there, greed might always tell the truth but what does that actually mean, some of the not fun parts of being possessed, somewhat one-sidedly but still, team greed camping trip of doom, to some extent, vaguely edling adjacent stuff later on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 40,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23971405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buffintruder/pseuds/Buffintruder
Summary: Of all the problems Ling thought he would face on his quest for immortality, learning to play nice with the living mess of longing and repression now stuck in his body was not one of them. It shouldn’t have been so hard, since Greed apparently only told the truth, but what Ling was coming to realize was that people were not so easy to make sense of, even when they were living inside his brain.A six month long character study in which, while trying to understand the guy possessing him, Ling actually comes to understand himself.(Maybe the real desire was the friends they made along the way)
Relationships: Edward Elric & Ling Yao, Greed (Ling) & Ling Yao
Series: Canon era Greedling [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766518
Comments: 79
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all an enormous thank you to Magpie who betaed this fic into something actually good, indirectly inspired the initial idea of this, and listened to me go on about this fic for several months. If I were to list all the times I got ideas for scenes while talking to you or ideas for how Greed and Ling felt and interacted, I would be here all day. This fic would not be what it is without you, so thank you so much  
> Also, thank you to midnight-mismanagement for all the encouragement! It really means a lot
> 
> This fic is pretty much finished and should have weekly updates
> 
> I don’t know precisely how to warn or tag for it, but especially in this first chapter, Ling really is not having a good time being possessed

In retrospect, maybe inviting a sentient philosopher’s stone into his body wasn’t actually the best way of bringing immortality back to his father, Ling thought.

He had spent the whole afternoon steadfastly ignoring that creeping doubt, coasting on the reassurance that he hadn’t really had a choice in the matter. If he had refused, he likely would have been forced into it anyway and then been crushed by the rush of souls fighting their way in. At least this way he was still alive.

But now that things had settled, the terror and excitement of getting his hands on the stone was starting to wear off, and it was all starting to hit him a little hard. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had, in fact, monumentally screwed everything up. He might have a philosopher’s stone, but he no longer had control of his own body, which meant he was no closer to the throne than before. Given that he had no way of going around this obstacle and pursuing another option, he might even be further away.

The only thing keeping him from losing hold of his deliberate calm and teetering into outright panic was the knowledge that if he did, Greed would almost certainly be able to feel it. Ling didn’t know where exactly he stood with Greed, but he wasn’t going to risk annoying him. He had shown no signs of wanting to crush Ling out of existence, even when Ling had snatched control back for a moment to talk back to Wrath, but he clearly had the power to if he wanted.

_ So, kid, _ Greed drawled mentally some time late that evening.  _ Liking these accommodations so far? Because I have to say, I wasn’t exactly hoping to spend the first day of my existence walking around a bunch of sewers. _

Ling hesitated, unsure how to respond or if he even should. Greed wasn’t exactly going around causing death and suffering, and he  _ had _ made sure Ling’s note to Lan Fan would be delivered, but he also didn’t seem to have any problems going along with Father’s schemes. Neither of them were certain what exactly those schemes entailed yet, but just the preparation for it had led to two separate genocides among other horrors, so Ling wasn’t optimistic about the rest of it.

_ What were you hoping, then? _ Ling asked neutrally. He didn’t trust Greed, but he had spent his whole life interacting with people he didn’t trust. Considering that Greed had just been created earlier that day, Ling figured there was a strong chance he had the advantage when it came to manipulation and information gathering. He needed to get Greed to go to Xing and give up control somehow, and he doubted asking nicely would do the trick.

Greed pondered it, his facial muscles shifting into a not-quite familiar arrangement, the sensation a little distant as if through a veil. They might share the same body, but Ling had no doubt that anybody who knew him would know it was not him in there just from the expressions.  _ I dunno, _ he said at last.  _ I liked being outside earlier. Maybe I’ll sneak out at some point. _

Ling hadn’t been expecting it to be that easy to find some weakness among the homunculi that he could potentially exploit.  _ You’d go against your Father’s orders? _

_ Sure, _ Greed said immediately, then stilled.  _ Well, no. Not for something big, obviously. But it’s not like I’m much use in these sewers. He can’t expect me to guard them twenty four seven, and he wouldn’t even notice if I left, as long as I was quiet about it. _

_You’re hardly being quiet about it to me,_ Ling said dryly, instantly regretting it. He knew better than to remind someone they couldn’t trust him when he was trying to get information out of them. It was hard to remember all his training when this setting was about as far from being the royal Xingese court as possible.

_ Well, it’s not like you can tell anyone else, _ Greed pointed out. 

Which was true, but he didn’t need to rub it in. Ling knew he no longer had autonomy or a voice or anything _ , _ that he was utterly powerless in a way he had never been before, but it still hurt to have that held over his head. Even though Greed might be a bit weird with his general attitude of friendliness, he could still be as cruel or inconsiderate as the others of his family. That didn’t matter though. Ling still needed to have a better understanding of who Greed was as a person so that he could know what strings to pull. He couldn’t give up here. 

With Greed’s temperament, prodding him into spilling information about himself seemed like a better plan than carefully dancing around various topics.  _ You’re kind of blunt, aren’t you. _

_ Well, I don’t lie, _ Greed said matter-of-factly. It was the same thing he had told Ed back when Ling had first gotten possessed, but Ling wasn’t particularly convinced. Growing up as Xingese royalty meant that Ling knew better than to ever trust that someone was telling the truth. Besides, Ling had long since learned to associate greediness with trickery and cruelty in his father’s court. He couldn’t particularly think of any reasons Greed would claim to only tell the truth, especially since Greed did not seem particularly cunning, but he still wasn’t going to just take his word for it.

Still, Ling was diplomatic enough to not outright accuse Greed of lying.  _ Why not? _

_ Eh, I just don’t like it, _ Greed said vaguely, which wasn’t particularly helping his case.  _ It makes things unnecessarily complicated when you have to keep track of what you’re saying and also if what the other person is saying is true or not.  _

That was almost enough to make Ling burst into laughter. He had lived his whole life layering lies about his intentions and opinions until he scarcely knew what was genuine anymore. Even with Lan Fan and Fu who were the only people in the world he truly trusted, it was less that he let down his act around them and more that he knew they could see through it every time.

Then again, Ling thought, this was a behavior that had been learned. Even though the homunculi were plotting some evil conspiracy, Greed was still young and didn’t seem to be made for the political manoeuvring aspect of it. If Ling was being honest, Greed seemed a bit dense, and Ling wouldn’t have been surprised to see Greed lose track of a lie and let something slip. Maybe he shouldn’t be so quick to doubt Greed’s supposed truth-telling habits.

_ So no lies at all? _ Ling asked.  _ Not even small ones? _

_ If I don’t think something, why bother saying it? _ Greed said. If that was indeed true, it put a new light to Greed marching around all day announcing how neat he found Ling to be.

_ I see,  _ Ling said. He might as well wait and see how much Greed actually upheld his ‘no lying’ rule before making any judgements.

The conversation came to a pause, the silence filled only by the vague sounds of a hundred souls floating through his mind as well as the buzz of Greed’s presence. Even though he planned to get information from Greed, a part of Ling was rather glad for this quiet. He felt like he was balanced on a knife’s edge, like one wrong tug or stumble would send him falling into emotional disarray. With all he had gone through and given up, surely he was allowed to want a bit of peace.

_ Who was that “Lan Fan” you sent the letter to, anyway? _ Greed asked. Apparently the universe did not think he was owed some time to himself after all.

The last thing Ling wanted was for Greed to have information on him. Whatever exchange of information they had needed to be as one-sided as possible. He didn’t want to upset the demon controlling his body though, so he fell back to information that Greed already had.  _ My retainer, _ he said.  _ I needed to let her know I’m still alive. _

_ This is the one that lost her arm for you, right? _ Greed asked, surprising Ling. It had been one of the first things he had told Greed, an explanation for why he was prepared to sacrifice everything for the philosopher’s stone, to make her loss worth it. He didn’t think Greed would remember that.

_ Yeah, _ he said, a little shortly.

_ What’s she like then? Besides crazy brave and loyal. _

_ Why do you want to know? _ Ling asked, unable to keep the suspicion out of his tone. Despite the mental walls they had built to keep their thoughts and emotions to themselves, it was hard to not let any of it leak out. 

_ Just making conversation, kid, _ Greed said, a clear note of amusement in his voice.  _ Why so defensive? It’s not like I’m going to steal your girl or anything—is that what you’re worried about? _ He snorted.

Ling scowled, not liking the dismissive way Greed talked about Lan Fan. She was no  _ thing _ to be stolen away from him. Still, in an abstract sense, Ling  _ was _ afraid that Greed would harm her in some way, and he hated that Greed had been able to see that in him.

Greed rolled his eyes.  _ Come on, kid. You can stop being so paranoid. I’m just bored. I already have everything I want from you. _

A chill went through Ling. It was true that he had nothing left to give to Greed, nothing left for himself. There was no reason for Greed to keep him around, and as long as he didn’t understand Greed’s reasoning, his whole situation was tenuous. A wave of helplessness seemed to envelop him, demanding him to give up because there was nothing he could do about any of it.

_ Why does it matter to you? _ Ling demanded.  _ I thought you homunculi see us humans as weak and insignificant. _

Greed mentally snorted.  _ You’re not insignificant, you’re my first possession! _

And there it was. How had he gotten to the point in his life where someone else could claim ownership of him and he couldn’t even really argue it? Of course it hurt, of course it made him feel small and weak, just like every other time Greed had reminded him of how inconsequential he was. But mostly, Ling just felt resigned. It wasn’t anything more than what he had expected of a homunculus.

He had no more energy left for any of this anymore. Distantly he could hear Greed trying to talk to him now, asking questions and verbally poking him for some response, but Ling ignored him, sinking deeper into his own corner of his mind. It had been a long time since he had felt this alone and helpless.

* * *

The large open area that Ling mentally labelled the throne room somehow managed to be more intimidating now than the first time he had seen it. Back then, he had at first been too relieved at escaping Gluttony’s stomach to be truly fearful, and then getting possessed had taken up most other thoughts. Now, with no pressing concerns occupying his mind, he suddenly felt very aware how alone and powerless he was in the heart of enemy territory.

Seated upon his metal throne was the leader of the homunculi, who the others called Father. With the harsh light focused onto him, his pale face and clothes stood out starkly against the shadows of the room. 

“Hey, pops,” Greed said casually as he approached, despite the slight shakiness that Ling could distantly feel in his limbs, the churning in his belly. “Pride said you called.”

“I did,” Father said cooly. “Wrath told me something interesting the other day.”

“Yeah?” Greed asked. His voice was steady despite the sudden rapid increase of his heartbeat. Greed might not lie, at least supposedly, but he wasn’t terrible at pretending to be more collected than he was.

“Is the human whose body you took still alive?” Although Father’s tone was utterly flat and devoid of any emotion, there was something in the sharp way he looked at Greed that felt extremely ominous, and Ling couldn't blame Greed for tensing up. Ling drew slightly further back in his mind, as if that would stop Father from spotting him.

Greed hesitated. “...Yes?”

Ling’s heart dropped. He hadn’t expected Greed to try to protect him anyway, he told himself angrily. Now he was absolutely going to be wiped out for good, without the chance to take the philosopher's stone back to Xing or even say goodbye to Lan Fan and Fu. Even though Greed hadn’t seemed inclined to want him gone before, Ling didn’t think that decision would hold up against a direct order from Father. He knew he was disposable to Greed, merely a possession, not even a person.

“Get rid of him,” Father commanded. Ling had expected nothing else, but this still sent a bolt of fear through him. He shrank back further, not that it would do anything to hide him from Greed. “He is one of the enemy, and he will poison your thoughts.”

Greed nodded, too quickly to be entirely casual, and Ling braced himself for some mental attack. None came. Perhaps he was planning on doing it later, once they were out of Father’s sight. 

As Greed began to leave, Father’s voice stopped him. “Is there a reason you didn’t absorb him?” Greed turned back to Father to see his eyes drilling holes into him.

Greed shrugged. “I don’t know. Didn’t see the point.”

“Do you have any of the previous Greed’s memories?” Father asked sharply.

“Nah,” Greed said, and Ling wondered why Father would ask that, why the old Greed might be connected to an act of mercy.

“Nothing?” Father pressed.

Greed shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “...Maybe? I mean I know stuff, but I don’t know if it comes from him or you or what.”

“What sorts of things?” Somehow Father’s gaze turned even more intense than before, and Ling shrank a little further back.

“What kind of food to feed the chimeras. How to fight and talk. Stuff like that,” Greed said. Most of the time, there were strong walls between Ling and Greed, and Ling couldn’t catch any thoughts or feelings beyond what Greed showed him, but now he could feel something building up, not quite a headache. He was pretty sure Greed wasn’t intentionally letting Ling see it, and that was a little worrying.

“Anything else?”

“Nope.” Greed quickly shook his head. “Nothing. Can I go now? I don’t want to talk about the past Greed. I’m not him.”

“No, you may not go,” Father said coldly. “Do you remember Lust? Or... what was it called... ‘the Devil’s Nest’?”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.” Greed’s mental pain was growing, and it was fast approaching intolerable. Ling needed to escape it, to get away from whatever was causing panic to fill up his lungs like water and stabbing staticky bursts of agony into his brain, and he wasn’t even sure if this urge was coming from him or Greed.

“You seem uncomfortable by my questioning,” Father said.

“Yeah, because like I said, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Greed snapped. “I’m not  _ him _ .”

Father’s gaze bore into him for a long moment. “Alright,” he said eventually. “You may leave.”

Without another word, Greed turned and went, and it wasn’t until they were far away that Greed’s heart began to slow to a normal pace and the pain in his head and chest began to fade.

In some ways, it was a relief to be out from under Father’s watchful eyes and to not feel those strange secondhand emotions from Greed. Except now that he could think properly, the fear of his own upcoming demise returned to the forefront of Ling’s mind, and a different sort of discomfort began to build.

“What?” Greed demanded, irritation sharpening his tone.

_ Huh? _ Ling asked.

“That... buzzy feeling. It’s annoying.”

_ Oh, _ Ling said. He hadn’t realized he had started to let his anxiety leak out past their wall. He quickly shut it off. Then, because he figured there was no point in putting off the question, he asked,  _ Are you going to kill me? _

“No,” Greed said, like the answer was obvious.

_ Oh. _ That one word reaction was not nearly enough to express his confusion over this, but Ling didn’t want to accidentally make Greed change his mind. Hadn’t Greed said he wouldn’t go against any of Father’s major orders? Was that a lie or had Greed changed his mind? How did Greed benefit from this? He wanted to know precisely how much he could rely on Greed not wanting to kill him for future cases, but he figured he would take what he could get. He was a little afraid to push it.  _ Well, I appreciate it. _

_ Just don’t go around grabbing control when I’m around my siblings again, okay? _ Greed said.  _ I don’t want them knowing you’re still in here. _

_ Yeah, no, I got that, _ Ling said, for once in absolute agreement with Greed.  _ I don’t want them knowing I’m still around any more than you do. _

_ Good, _ Greed said, and Ling wondered once again why he even cared whether Ling was alive or not.

* * *

“Would you rather fight a hundred puppy-sized elephants, or one elephant-sized puppy?” Greed asked. He tossed a pebble down the tunnel, watching it bounce to a halt after hitting a crack in the ground at a weird angle.

Ling still wasn’t entirely sure how Greed knew about puppies, or elephants, or anything about the world in general despite spending a majority of his four weeks of existence underground. Greed claimed he was just born with all that knowledge, and sometimes when Greed spoke, Ling could catch an undercurrent of someone or something else beyond the Greed that existed currently. Whether that was from Father or the previous Greed, he couldn’t say.

_ Elephant-sized puppy _ , Ling said after a moment of thought. He had given up on the idea of not sharing any details about himself barely a week into his possession. He wasn’t about to spill any of his secrets or deepest motivations any time soon, but boredom had long since trumped any concerns he had over whatever miniscule advantage Greed could theoretically get from knowing Ling’s opinion on which element represented him best or whatever.  _ It would make a large target and be far easier to keep track of. _

“But it has teeth and claws!” Greed said.

_ That’s one drawback, but a hundred elephants have their own challenges. _

“Elephants are weak without their size! What could they even do to you?”

_ There would be so many of them! They could overwhelm you with sheer numbers and sneak up on you from behind while distracting you in the front. At least the puppy can only ever be in one place, and once it’s defeated, it’s defeated. You only have to win once. _

“Sneak up on you and do what? Stomp on your toes? They’d just be so small... and cute.” Ling felt Greed cup his hands in a small box shape to demonstrate the size, a grin curling at the corners of his lips.

**_Too_ ** _ cute, perhaps? _ Ling mentally sent Greed the impression of raised eyebrows and a broad grin.  _ You seem fond of the idea. Could you really kill all those innocent little elephants? _

“Like I’d be more willing to kill a puppy, no matter its size?” Greed demanded. “Anyway, why are we fighting these puppies and elephants in the first place?”

_ You aren’t allowed to question the questions. Besides, you brought it up. _

“Fine, whatever.” Greed rolled his eyes. “Your turn.”

Ling thought about it for a moment. They had been playing this game long enough that he had started to run out of theoretical situations to ask about. At first, he had chosen questions to try and reveal any weaknesses Greed might have, much to Greed’s amusement. But even with Ling asking directed questions, he didn’t think he could get any more useful information from Greed than the other way around.

_ If your house—or tunnel or whatever—was on fire and you could only take one thing out with you, what would it be? _

“How is this different from the ‘what would you bring if you were stranded on an island’ question?” Greed asked.

_ The island is a temporary situation, and you’re supposed to answer with something that could help you get off the island or survive until rescue comes, _ Ling said. Greed had spent almost half an hour switching between different options, only about a quarter of which would have had any practical value in such a situation, until Ling got bored and told Greed it was his turn to ask a question.

“You mean I could have said a boat and not worried about the whole thing?” Greed demanded.

_ Yeah, that’s a cleverer option, _ Ling said.  _ But then I would have said the boat would have a hole in it, and that’s why you were stranded in the first place, or something. The fire’s different though. You don’t have a lot of time to think over the question in this situation, and everything you don’t choose is gone for good, unlike on the island. Plus it has to be something you already have. _

“Oh, in that case, I’d take you,” Greed said without a beat of hesitation, none of that uncertainty and indecision from the island question in his tone.

Ling had absolutely no idea what to make of that answer.  _ I mean, you’re in my body. I don’t think you could leave me behind if you wanted to. _

“Well, since I don’t actually have a house, and this tunnel isn’t flammable, the question is basically ‘what’s your most important possession’, right? And since I really don’t have anything else, that’s you.”

Something cold dropped into Ling’s metaphorical stomach as reality crashed down on him like shards of glass. What was he even doing here, chatting with a monster who had taken his life from him? Ever since he accepted that Greed really had no intentions of killing him, he had begun to grow comfortable in his situation. But he knew about the horrible things the other homunculi had done, from devouring enough people to fill a pocket dimension with a sea of blood to infiltrating a country’s government and causing war after war in order to obtain more power. He had been bored and isolated enough to almost forget about that.

A part of him felt disappointment sink into his chest like a heavy stone. A larger part of him just felt angry at himself for thinking that it could be any other way.

“Uh, kid?” Greed said, and Ling wasn’t sure whether Greed was picking up on some emotion that managed to get past the mental wall between them or if he was just concerned at Ling’s silence.

It wasn’t right that Ling should have such little privacy, and the embers of his old frustration at this situation began to spark up again. Perhaps Greed wasn’t entirely to blame because he hadn’t exactly chosen the circumstances of his birth, but he willingly supported those who had put him here, who wanted to do so much worse to so many others. He should be Ling’s enemy, so why was Ling joking and lightly debating with Greed like they were old friends?

“Even if I had a lot of possessions like gold and cars and stuff, you’d still be the most important one,” Greed said quickly, and was that supposed to be some sort of compliment or reassurance? Ling wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

Maybe part of this hurt because Ling had been starting to think that even if they weren’t exactly friends, they had both found companionship in each other. It might have only happened because they had no other person to talk to, but it was still  _ something _ . Except Ling was starting to believe that Greed really did only speak the truth. Apparently he truly wasn’t capable of ever seeing Ling as an equal.

Which meant Ling was screwed. If after all this time spent with nothing else to do besides get to know each other, Greed still saw him as his possession, as his inferior in status and personhood, then Ling didn’t have hope of that ever changing in the future. He was trapped and alone and he couldn’t see himself getting out of this any time soon.

Lan Fan and Fu weren’t exactly willingly abandoning him, and especially with Lan Fan having just lost her arm, Ling was glad they weren’t trying to fight all the homunculi to go after him. Ed and Al would know that there was no point in rescuing him unless they could also figure out some way of ensuring his control over a philosopher’s stone. He knew that them leaving him alone was the best option for all of them, but it still meant that no one would be coming to his aid. Ling was entirely alone in getting back control of his body and bringing proof of immortality back to Xing, and now any chance of him turning this situation to his advantage seemed utterly hopeless. 

He didn’t know why he thought for even a moment that there would be any other possibility.

“Ling?” Greed tried.

_ I’m tired of this game,  _ Ling said.  _ Let’s stop. _

Greed didn’t try to argue, but he slumped a little further down the wall he was sitting against.

* * *

Even though Greed was supposed to stay underground and guard the homunculi's secret lair, every once in a while he snuck out to the world above. He didn’t do much there, just walked around, occasionally talked to people and stole or bought things. Ling had even managed to convince him to get food once or twice. He never left long enough or frequently enough to risk getting caught missing by the other homunculi, but it staved away some of the boredom.

Since that conversation a few days ago where Ling realized Greed wouldn’t see him as a real person no matter what, Greed had been going out more. If Ling had to give a reason, he would guess it was from lack of anything better to do. Ling hadn’t stopped talking to Greed completely because otherwise he would probably go insane, but it had been harder to hold conversations when all Ling could think of was about how Greed didn’t see them as equals.

This time, for some unfathomable reason, Greed went to a public library.

_ You can’t steal things from here, Greed! _ Ling protested the moment he realized Greed was actually going to enter the building.  _ These books belong to everybody! _

_ I’m part of everybody _ , Greed pointed out as he headed straight for the nearest shelf.  _ Which means these are mine. I don’t need to carry something with me everywhere I go for it to be mine. _

That did not fit in with any idea of possession Ling had ever heard, but he let it go. If that was the reasoning that would make Greed leave the books here for others to enjoy, Ling would take it. Besides, the thought of Greed claiming ownership of things just made him tired at this point.

_ Whatever you say. _ Ling said. He wondered if Greed even liked books. Greed had never mentioned any interest in reading, but he was staring at the shelf pretty intently. 

There was a row of various cookbooks, mostly for Amestrian food, though a few seemed to branch into the cuisine of other cultures. One book was about cooking dumplings, the title in both Xingese and Amestrian. The familiar characters sent a pang of homesickness through him, but there was no time for that. He couldn’t return now, so it would do no good to think about his home until he was capable of ruling it.

Ling didn’t think Greed had chosen this shelf in particular because he had never shown an interest in cooking before, but something must have kept him there. 

_ You like food, right? _ Greed asked.

_ Yes? _ Ling said. After all of their conversation, even if Greed had tuned out most of what Ling said, Ling’s love of eating had to be something that he was well aware of.  _...Why? _

“Do you need help with anything?” came a voice from behind them before Greed could respond. “You look kind of lost.”

“Nah, I’m not here for the books,” Greed said, spinning around to face a librarian. Ling had spent a fair amount of time trying to understand Greed’s inner emotions, attempting to figure out if there was any way to use it to his advantage, and this confused him. The boredom made perfect sense, but it still struck Ling as odd that his solution for that was to go out to a place where he didn’t care for the main thing it offered and had no intentions of taking anything for himself.

“What are you here for, then?” she asked, bemused.

“Eh, I was feeling bored and alone,” Greed said.

_ You weren’t alone,  _ Ling said immediately.  _ I’ve been here the whole time. Did you finally break your ‘no lies’ thing? _

_ It’s not like you’re talking to me a lot anymore, so I  _ **_felt_ ** _ alone, _ Greed shot back.  _ I  _ **_never_ ** _ lie. _

In Ling’s opinion, the phrasing was misleading enough that it wasn’t the whole truth, but he supposed that not considering it a lie was a fair interpretation. Variation in what was considered to be the truth was an inevitable part of being a person with biases and a perspective, he figured.

The librarian was talking about other activities the library hosted when Ling tuned back into the conversation.

“And of course other organizations use this space to host meetings, though I’m not sure how interested in those you’d be. There’s a book club tonight, if I remember correctly.”

“Like I said, I’m not interested in reading,” Greed said dismissively.

“Well, if you ever change your mind, I have some recommendations,” the librarian said.

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

The last thing Ling expected was for Greed to be taken on a tour of the library and hear all about the librarian’s favorite books in each section, but apparently he wasn’t all that good at predicting what Greed would do. He was a little impressed at how well read the librarian was, being familiar with everything from astronomy textbooks to children’s fairy tales to biographies to romance novels. Mostly though, he was confused enough at why Greed was going along with this to start a conversation.

_ What are you doing?  _ he asked.

_ Learning about books, _ Greed said.  _ Now shhh, I’m trying to listen. _

So Ling had remained quiet. After hearing nothing except Greed’s voice for days, he had to admit this was a nice change of pace for him too.

Once the tour was done and the librarian excused herself to do other work, Ling finally spoke up again.  _ I thought you weren’t interested in books. So why did you listen to her talk about them for half an hour? _

_ I was curious _ , Greed said casually, like he didn’t understand why Ling was so confused by this.  _ I want to know what kind of things are in my possession _ .

Ling thought about Greed’s obvious boredom in the sewers, and about his own relief at this change of pace. Maybe Greed genuinely wanted conversation. It still didn’t explain why he had turned to  _ this  _ to entertain himself.  _ I don’t understand your definition of possessions. You get that half of what you claim to be ‘yours’ would not be considered as such by anybody else, right? _

He didn’t know why he was bringing this up, but he had to know. Maybe if he understood exactly what Greed meant by this term, he could have some hope for his own situation. Maybe he could stop feeling so frustrated and weak every time he thought about what Greed had said.

_ Possessions are things that I want that I have, _ Greed said, which answered absolutely nothing.

_ Including library books?  _ Ling asked. After a moment of hesitation, he added,  _ and people? _

_ Yup, _ Greed said.

_ But you want everything, right? So you’re just saying that possessions are things that you have, but how do you define “things that you have”? _

Greed was silent for a long moment, and Ling wondered what could possibly be running through Greed’s mind. Trying to follow his logic seemed like trying to find an end to a circle.  _ I have them when I start wanting to keep them instead of to get them. _

It probably said a lot about how long Ling had been stuck with Greed that he could actually understand the reasoning there. He supposed that as one of those things that Greed considered his possessions, he should be happy that Greed hadn’t used a less flattering description there. Not that Ling wanted to think about that any longer. For the sake of his mental health, he didn’t really have the option to not talk to Greed, but it made him feel sick when he thought too hard about his whole situation.

_ Anyway, how come you don’t seem to hate humans like the rest of your family?  _ Ling asked because that was another question that had been bothering him and this one seemed less fraught with emotional traps. Trying to discern what exactly Greed thought about humans brought him no end of confusion, with each clue he gave pointing towards a different answer. Greed clearly didn’t think all that highly of him, but at least he seemed to care whether Ling lived or died, which was more than could be said for any of the other homunculi.

He expected Greed to scoff, to say something about how it was easier to get people’s possessions if you acted nicer to them, or about how he was actually just so bored that even conversation with humans was worth seeking out.

Instead, Greed just laughed.  _ Humans are neat! You people never stop surprising me. Take you, for instance. Just handing over your body like that! Sometimes you lot act selfless despite your greed, and sometimes your greed for things beyond yourself makes you act against your self interests. It’s fascinating! What’s not to like? _

That was so different from what Ling had expected Greed to say, that he didn’t know how to respond. Despite how strange it sounded, or perhaps because of it, Ling found to his surprise that he genuinely believed Greed was telling the truth.  _ It’s not really greed if you’re acting for others, is it? _

_ Greed is just about wanting things, _ Greed said.  _ There’s nothing that specifies what kind of things. _

Which had interesting implications, especially combined with the knowledge that Greed thought humans were cool, but Ling tucked the thought away for later when he really had time to puzzle out why that might be the case.  _ But then couldn’t you say that wanting revenge against someone isn’t wrath but instead is greed? That wanting to rest and never do anything isn’t sloth but greed? That greed overlaps with a lot of what your siblings are? _

_ I guess, _ Greed said reluctantly.  _ But that isn’t how it works. It’s not how Father divided us up. I’m not every type of wanting, just most of them. Greed isn’t about wanting to  _ **_do_ ** _ things, it’s about wanting to  _ **_have_ ** _ things, even if those things aren’t always objects. _

_ Right. _ It didn’t make a lot of sense to Ling, but he figured it didn’t matter if he fully understood Father’s reasoning for splitting his personality traits the way he did. Understanding what traits Greed had was far more relevant to him, and it seemed that for one reason or another Greed had turned out in a way that made him more inclined to like humans than the rest, even if Ling didn’t entirely understand why. 

Which made him pretty lucky, he figured. Greed possessing him was far from ideal, but it could have been a lot worse.

* * *

One aspect of being possessed that Ling had not anticipated was how everything in the outside world felt just a little bit muted when Greed was in control. He had grown used to it quickly enough because it was his constant state, but when he thought about it, it still seemed odd that he was so disconnected from his own body that he couldn’t even see and hear and feel things properly.

Now Ling was in charge for the first time in over a month, and there was no filter. Each sensation felt almost startlingly sharp, his mind jarringly connected to the outside world. He could feel the cool night air against his skin, the aching muscles in his legs, the brush of fabric and sway of hair, the heaviness of each pant as he ran. For the first time since Greed first took over, Ling could experience the world in full.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t enjoy it.

Ling hadn’t been the one doing things when they broke into Wrath’s house and attacked him, but his own anger towards Wrath had brought them more in tune with each other than they had ever been. That synchronicity combined with Greed’s messed up emotional state had made it easy to take full control and escape. He didn’t know how much effort Wrath would put into chasing them down, but he figured fleeing the scene as if the entire Amestrian army was after him was the best course of action.

With the philosopher’s stone inside of him, Ling had more stamina than he had as a human, which allowed him to get out of Central without stopping. Even he couldn’t last forever though. Once they were well into a patch of woods far beyond the city limits, Ling came to a halt, leaning against a tree for support as he gasped for breath.

_ Greed? _ he called out. He was met with silence, though he could feel Greed’s emotions swirling around as chaotically as the souls around them.

His heart was beating wildly, filled with pain and panic from memories that weren’t his, from emotions that weren’t his, and Ling had no idea how to react. In all the time they had known each other, Greed had in many ways been like a newborn, a little cruel and a little curious, largely new to everything the world had to offer. But now Ling knew he had once had a life and a family that he had cared about, that he had  _ loved _ , that had been ripped away from him. Father’s act of killing and recreating him suddenly seemed a thousand times worse.

He didn’t know what to think of Greed anymore. He wasn’t even quite sure who Greed was, if any parts of the old Greed had been unburied with the return of some of his memories. Ling suspected that Greed himself didn’t know either.

_ Greed, _ he tried again, faltering immediately afterwards. Even if Greed did respond, Ling didn’t know how to offer sincere comfort or reassurance, especially not to someone who stole his body and was actively keeping him from achieving his greatest goal. They were more or less on good terms, but only because the alternative would have been exhausting. They weren’t friends. And Ling might not have ever really  _ hated _ Greed, not like how he hated his own father or Wrath, but that still didn’t mean he wanted to forcibly empathize with someone that he had zero reason to want the well-being of.

Still, if he wanted the chaos inside his brain to lessen even a little, he had to try  _ something _ .

_ I’m sorry about your friends, _ Ling said, feeling rather helpless. He could say this much truthfully, though he had no idea if it did any good. The only time he had ever talked to someone in the midst of a breakdown was Lan Fan when they were nine. He thought about Lan Fan, how Wrath had hurt her and nearly killed her, his own fear and anger from then now mirrored a hundred-fold in Greed.  _ They didn’t deserve what Wrath did to them. _

_ They were  _ **_mine_ ** , Greed said with none of the arrogance or amusement that always seemed to linger in his tone.  _ I was supposed to protect them, but I only brought them to their deaths. _

Suddenly pieces that had been bothering Ling for awhile now clicked together. Ling knew Greed had a habit of claiming everything he feasibly could as his, from library books to Ling himself. Up until now, Ling had taken that at face value, as an insult and inherent degradation. But in this context, it was anything but. Greed’s truth had not been Ling’s truth. 

Ling wasn’t sure where he fell in Greed’s eyes between inanimate objects and the friends he had cared deeply for, but he thought there was a strong chance that he wasn’t at the bottom of that scale. He felt a little bad for not focusing on all that Greed had lost, but if Greed had noticed Ling’s lack of response, he didn’t show it. 

Greed seemed smaller than normal, pressed up against the back of their mind, allowing Ling full control without even a whiff of resistance. Despite that, the influence of his presence extended into Ling’s space in a way it hadn’t before. Fury and grief had broken past the walls between them, filling up every corner of their brain with echoes of a mental agony Ling couldn’t fully understand. Even if they weren’t Ling’s emotions, that didn’t make them any less devastating.

Looking around carefully, Ling listened for any out-of-place sound or unusual shift in the pulse of the earth, and found nothing. Figuring they were far enough away from Central to be safe for now, he grabbed onto the nearest low-hanging branch he could spot and pulled himself up, pushing the smaller twigs out of his face as he climbed higher.

Greed liked heights, Ling knew. Maybe it was because of all his time trapped in the sewers, so closed in and surrounded. Maybe it was Ling’s own influence, a lifetime of assassination attempts making high places with their cover and clear viewpoint feel far safer than the exposed ground. Hopefully this might help, even if only a tiny bit.

“I’m here, Greed,” Ling whispered to himself. He wasn’t sure he could offer comfort to this monster who perhaps was less of a monster than Ling had initially thought, but he could offer a steady presence. “You’re safe, and it’s horrible that they aren’t. But I’m not leaving any time soon.”

Greed didn’t respond, but that awful pain flooding into Ling’s mind quietened for just a moment, and Ling figured that it would have to be enough.

* * *

Ling didn’t know how long he had been walking. The light filtering through the leaves was dim and gray, and anywhere between a day and three could have passed since he had fled Bradley’s house. His mind had been too full of Greed’s emotional turmoil to pay attention. He didn’t know where he was going either, just that he had to get away, that he had to keep moving.

The storm inside of Greed had lost its intensity, and though Ling could still feel an aching loss emanating from the corner Greed had shut himself off in, it didn’t overwhelm Ling like it had before.

What they needed was some kind of plan. Going back to the other homunculi was obviously out, since he didn’t think either of them had any desire to work with them any longer. Greed would undoubtedly stop him from going back to Xing, and if Ling was being honest about it, he felt some amount of obligation to stay in Amestris and help put a stop to whatever Father was up to. Working for Father for so long had given them a bit of knowledge of his plans that he wasn’t sure the others would have. The only option left was to stay out of Father’s grasp while figuring out a way to fight back, but Ling didn’t have the faintest clue about where to start with that.

So he just kept walking.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t trapped in a sewer anymore, maybe it was the grief still coming from Greed, but Ling felt loneliness pressing down on him particularly sharply. He missed having Lan Fan and Fu by his side. They could be overbearing and protective at times, but right now he could really use some of their advice and reassurance, or even just someone to toss ideas back and forth with and draw strength from.

He missed home, with its familiar people and language and food. All of that was depending on him returning with Greed’s philosopher’s stone, he reminded himself. There was nothing he could do about that currently.

Even Ed or Al or Winry or Mustang would have been welcome as a familiar face. The endless trek through Gluttony’s stomach had been a lot more eerie than this walk, but at least Ed’s company had driven the worst of the despair away.

Now, he only had Greed, who was far from helpful in that regard. Greed hadn’t said anything in ages. He probably wouldn’t take well to getting mentally prodded, but Ling was desperate enough for conversation to try.

_ Greed?  _ Ling called out tentatively.  _ How are you feeling? _

_ I don’t know, _ came the response, miserable and tired. There was a certain heaviness, an exhaustion that Ling had never heard before from Greed.  _ I feel empty. More than any emptiness I’ve ever felt. _

_ You just remembered losing people who were very close to you, _ Ling said, hoping his voice was a comforting sort of calm and not a condescending one. This wasn’t a position he had been in very often.  _ It’s natural to feel awful about it. _

_ Does it go away? _ Greed asked.

Ling hesitated, not sure what kind of answer Greed wanted to hear the most. What had Fu said to Lan Fan when her father died?  _ It gets better. I don’t think you can ever replace or just get over the people who were so important to you, but you won’t feel this much pain forever. The emptiness you feel won’t be quite as large once you start to move on from your loss. _

_ You know, I think you’re right, _ Greed said, a growing spark of something brighter piercing through the fog of grief.

_ What? _ Ling had no idea what Greed was getting at. He didn’t think his words would lead to any revelations, but Greed was acting like it had.

_ I feel this extra emptiness because I realized what I lost, _ Greed said.  _ I just need to fill it up with more possessions, and it will go away! _

Ling paused in disbelief. The being who had been possessing him for a month and a half didn’t understand a single damned thing. There was no way that Greed could genuinely believe that, that he could have misinterpreted Ling’s words this badly.  _ No? That’s not how— _

A certain manic feeling began seeping across from Greed’s side of their headspace.  _ I’ll just rule the world! I want everything! Gold! And women and henchmen and power and fame and—  _ He was cut off by a similar kind of mind-searing pain that had accompanied Greed’s first rush of memories, and Ling caught flashes of other times he had monologued to different faces. As if physically wounded, Greed shrank back into his corner, a hollow aching flooding their minds.

This wasn’t the first aftershock of memories Greed had experienced, and the pain wasn’t as sharp this time as the last ones, the memory not quite as clear to Ling. It felt like Greed was starting to get a better grip on this process. Soon it would likely stop leaking into Ling’s mind, and after that Greed would probably take control of their body again. 

As much as Ling didn’t look forward to that day, a part of him genuinely wanted Greed to stop feeling this terrible. It wasn’t exactly enjoyable for him to be caught up in it either, he tried to justify to himself. It made perfect sense for him to not want to feel that secondhand pain, and that selfishness was all there was to it, nothing more.

He wasn’t like Greed though, and he knew when he was lying to himself.

* * *

“So basically I tried to attack Wrath, but he was really kicking my ass, so I ran away,” Greed told Ed, as they walked through the woods with their newfound team.

_ You mean  _ **_I_ ** _ ran away, _ Ling corrected.

“Okay,  _ Ling _ ran away, whatever, this body escaped with both of us in it, and we couldn’t exactly go back after that,” Greed said. “And now we’re here.” Greed hadn’t given the full story, but Ling could hardly blame him for not wanting to talk about killing Bido and the sheer amount of pain both of them had experienced afterwards.

“That’s it?” Ed asked. “No realization that what Father’s doing is awful? Just ‘it’s too dangerous to return’?”

“Eh,” Greed said, shrugging.

_ If Father kills everyone in Amestris, no one will be around to make things for you to possess, _ Ling said, figuring now was as good of a time as any to make sure Greed didn’t hold any remaining traces of loyalty to Father.  _ And with that amount of power, do you really think he’ll leave other countries alone? You’d have nowhere to run. _

“Look, I don’t know why both of you are so quick to make sure I’m not on his side anymore,” Greed said. “Father dearest has only ever limited me, and you think I’d want to work for him now that I know what he stole from me?! They were _ — _ irreplaceable. Plus he killed me! Why would I want to go back to that?!”

Which was fair, and maybe Ling hadn’t been giving Greed enough credit.

“So you’re happier working with us now than you were working for him before you remembered?” Ed asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

“I mean, this setup isn’t  _ great _ , given that we’re on the run and everything,” Greed said. “But I’m somewhat less bored, and plus I have a whole team that’s mine instead of just...” Greed faltered. “...Ling.” A soft sort of panic began emanating from him.

_ Is everything okay? _ Ling asked, mentally frowning.

Something like relief or hope crept in.  _ Oh, so you aren’t going to stop talking to me? _

_ What? _

“You good?” Ed asked, staring at them with slightly furrowed eyebrows.

Greed held up an index finger.

“Fine, whatever, I’m not going to sit around and watch you talk to yourself for another ten minutes again,” Ed muttered, walking faster to catch up with Heinkel and Darius.

_ Why would I stop talking to you? _ Ling asked, clueless as to where any of this was coming from.

_ Well, the last two times I called you mine, that’s what you did, _ Greed said.  _ So yeah. Um. I didn’t mean to be inconsiderate of your feelings. _

_ Oh, _ Ling said. Even though he hadn’t given Greed a truthful explanation for retreating to his own corner of his brain, he shouldn’t have assumed Greed wouldn’t figure it out. At the time, Ling hadn’t thought Greed would care, even if he did notice.  _ It’s different now. I... still don’t love it, but I understand what you mean by it better now. _

_ What do you mean? _ Greed asked, puzzled.

Ling still wasn’t entirely sure he knew what Greed meant by ‘possession’, and suddenly he felt scared that his assumptions were wrong, that Ling would say how demeaning it had felt to be thought of as an object and Greed would laugh in his face and tell him of course he meant it that way.  _ I thought you were reminding me how powerless I was. And saying that I was expendable. That my feelings and thoughts and agency mattered as much as, I dunno, a shirt’s. _

_ But you aren’t a shirt, you’re a person, _ Greed said.  _ I treat my shirts well, but of course I wouldn’t treat you the same as one! _

_ Well I don’t know! _ Ling shot back.  _ Even humans can treat other humans like they aren’t people, and all the other homunculi look down on humans! I thought you didn’t see me as a full person who mattered! _

Greed snorted.  _ Of course you matter! You’re— _ **_you._ ** _ You matter to me, and you matter in the world! _

_ How was I supposed to know?! _

_ I delivered that letter for you! I always let you choose what we eat! _

_ I thought you were just bored or something! _ Ling protested.  _ Or that you just wanted to keep me quiet. Also I have great taste in food, so why wouldn’t you ask me for advice? I didn’t know because I thought you meant the literal truth, or at least the truth most people would have meant when you said that! _

_ Well, now you know, _ Greed said, a little quieter.

_ Yeah, I guess I do. _ Ling sighed.  _ Look, I still don’t really like it when you call me your possession. But now I know that you don’t mean it like  _ **_that_ ** _ , it doesn’t upset me as much. I won’t stop talking to you because of it. _

_ Good, _ Greed said.  _ You’re annoying, but it’s weird when you’re quiet. _

It was far from the biggest of compliments, but considering that it wasn’t too long ago that Ling had thought Greed couldn’t care less about him, he would take what he could get. He beamed.  _ Aw, thanks! _

Greed rolled his eyes, and now, Ling could tell it was a fond gesture. Given his circumstances, no one could blame him for taking so much of what Greed said and did as negative, Ling felt. But it was nice to have that cleared up so he could see the positive sides for what they were.


	2. Chapter 2

“I don’t get why _I_ have to dig the latrine,” Greed grumbled, glaring in the direction of their camp several meters away. Ling was pretty sure that none of their team members were there anymore, having gone off to do their own chores, but he didn’t mention that to Greed.

 _Well, someone had to,_ Ling said, a little tiredly. _And it’s not like you know how to set rabbit traps._

“I could collect firewood,” Greed protested.

_You know it’s our turn on the rota._

“Why does this even matter?” Greed half-heartedly poked at the ground with his shovel.

 _It’s unhygienic to just poop wherever, especially since we’re staying here for a couple days,_ Ling said, squashing down rising irritation at having to explain something that was rather obvious to him. He had no idea how much Greed knew about human immune systems or even the germ theory of disease, and growing impatient wouldn’t be fair to him. _If someone steps in it, it could get on our bags or in our food, and that’s just gross. Plus_ **_we_ ** _might be immune to disease, but the rest of the team isn’t._

“Yeah, I know, I wasn’t born yesterday,” Greed said, and Ling stopped himself from making a sarcastic comment about that. “Can’t I just complain about stuff without you turning it into a lecture?” He reluctantly shoved the shovel into the ground, flinging away a small clump of dirt.

_Look, if you want to give me control of the body, I could just do it for you._

Greed laughed. “Nice try, kid, but no way.”

 _What do you think I’ll do if you let me have some control?_ Ling demanded, trying not to sound too whiny. After their conversation about what Greed meant by ‘possession’ the night before, and with all they had gone through fighting and fleeing from Wrath, Ling had thought they were making actual progress. Apparently it wasn’t enough for Greed to let him have the reins though, Ling thought bitterly.

 _Even if you’re in charge, I’ll still be able to feel you doing it,_ Greed said, not even attempting to be subtle about avoiding Ling’s question.

_Not as clearly, and you won’t be the one putting effort into it._

_I’ll still be bored._

Ling snorted, but he figured there was no point in trying to argue any longer. It wasn’t like he was desperate to dig that hole, even if he did want his body back. Watching Greed work was hardly interesting for him either, so Ling started to let his mind drift to other things, only to be interrupted by a twinge of something strange in the pulse of the earth.

Before he could even think about alerting Greed, there was a pain in the back of his knees, and suddenly his face was pressed into the dirt, his arms in a tight hold and a crushing weight on his back. Greed struggled to roll over and pull an arm loose, but whoever this attacker was, they did not relent.

“Ling Yao,” the attacker said coldly, his name said without accent. This was no Amestrian who had him pinned.

A directed feeling of confusion, a wordless question, came from Greed’s side of their mind, even as one side of his physical lips twitched into an almost-smirk. _Who’d you piss off this badly, kid?_

“You humiliated my lady Zhao Yu,” the attacker hissed in Xingese. “She wants you to know that this assassination is _personal_.”

 _What did she say?_ Greed demanded, and Ling remembered that despite living in his brain, Greed couldn’t understand Xingese.

The assassin drew back one of her arms, and Ling saw a flash of silver before her dagger struck his throat. There was no blood, no dying gasps, only the sharp clang of metal on Greed’s shield. Greed tried to twist around, and the assassin must have been quite surprised because he succeeded.

“Sorry, lady, but you have the wrong guy,” Greed said, his grin sharp. It held no trace of the usual friendliness that Ling had seen him offer to so many others, even to people who wished him harm. His shield sprang up around his arms, his fingers now tipped with sharp claws. "The name’s Greed.”

Greed swiped his claws forward, and the assassin lept back, and then they were fighting. It was almost painful for Ling to watch. The last time they had been in a situation like this, anger and grief were raging around in their shared headspace, blinding Greed to logical thought and causing Ling to be barely able to focus on keeping himself together. Greed hadn’t fought very well then, but Ling hadn’t exactly been able to pay attention to that except to take over at the last minute and save them.

This time, there was a fierceness to Greed’s actions that seemed rather uncharacteristic, but there was none of that all-consuming fury, which meant Ling could feel exactly how clunky his movements and how uncoordinated his attacks were. If Greed didn’t have his Ultimate Shield and regenerative powers, they would have been killed in a heartbeat.

 _Duck!_ Ling shouted in their mind. _Go left—no! Not that far! Punch—you aren’t moving fast enough! You’ll never get past her defenses!_ One would think that after over a decade of training, Greed would have access to at least some of Ling’s muscle memory, but no.

“Shut. Up,” Greed hissed as he lifted his arm barely in time to block the assassin’s strike.

_Give me control! I can fight her for you!_

“What _are_ you?” the assassin demanded, in Amestrian this time.

“I’m a homunculus,” Greed said, letting his sharp teeth show. “Why are you after the brat anyway?”

The assassin didn’t answer, and after a beat, Ling said, _One of my half sisters sent her to kill me. We... had a bit of a fight a couple years back, but this is honestly largely political. The less siblings you have to compete against, the more likely you are to get the throne._ This kind of thing happened fairly frequently. Ling hadn’t exactly expected to run into assassins all the way in Amestris, but before bigger concerns like not having his body to himself had taken priority, they had still been enough of a threat for him to keep an eye out for them.

Greed, however, did not take it so casually. “Ling is m—I’m gonna protect Ling,” Greed growled, hot anger curling around the edges of their shared mind space. There was more force to his actions now, not that it helped him fight any better. “Don’t you fucking dare touch him.”

It perhaps was not the most powerful declaration Ling had ever heard, but that didn’t erase its weight. Ling had complicated feelings towards people who wanted to protect him. On one hand, the people he was the closest to showed most of their affection for him by keeping him safe. On the other hand, their job kept distance between them and him and made them overbearing. He didn’t like people putting his life above their own either.

Greed was different in that regard though. It wasn’t his duty to protect Ling; he was doing it because he wanted to, because of emotions that ran deeper than simply wanting to avoid a danger that would get in his way. It helped that Ling didn’t have to worry about Greed sacrificing himself either because anything that harmed Greed would hurt Ling just as much.

Ling actually felt rather touched that Greed was so defensive over him, even more so because Greed had stopped himself from saying something he knew would make Ling uncomfortable.

The only problem with this situation was that Greed was doing a truly terrible job of protecting him.

 _Greed,_ Ling tried again. _Let me defend myself. I appreciate it, but no offense, I could do a much better job of it. This isn’t even your fight._

Greed hesitated, and the assassin’s knife scratched his face, red sparks dancing across the wound before it closed. _Fine._

The moment Ling took control, he knew the assassin didn’t stand a chance. Perhaps their skills were evenly matched, but she had been worn down by fighting Greed, while Ling’s energy was still going strong because of his philosopher’s stone. He struck quickly, breaking Greed’s predictable and defensive pattern to stab her in the arm with his claws before she could even notice the change.

Using her pain as a distraction, Ling kicked the knife out of her hand and caught her in a hold, careful to keep her hands away from anywhere a weapon could be hidden.

 _What now?_ Greed asked him.

Ling hesitated as the assassin struggled against him. The safest option would be to kill her, but Ling was not by nature a murderous person, and the last thing he wanted was to trigger a flashback from Greed to the last time one of them had killed someone.

Adopting a lower tone and using the best southern Amestrian accent he could manage, Ling chuckled. “So you thought I was that prince brat, huh? Wow, I bet _I_ was a huge surprise.” He had been a little worried that there would be some remaining Xingese in his accent that would give him away, but after weeks of feeling his mouth move in the correct positions for Amestrian phonemes, it seemed he was passable at mimicking Greed’s way of speaking.

 _What are you doing?_ Greed demanded. _Is that supposed to be_ **_me_ ** _?!_

“How’d you track me down anyway?” Ling asked, tilting his head a little in that way Greed did. He wasn’t sure how convincing he was, but since Greed wouldn’t lie, Ling simply had to hope that the assassin was unfamiliar enough with both of them to not notice that his acting wasn’t the best. When she didn’t respond, Ling dug his claws deeper into her shoulder. 

“When you attack the leader of a country, it’s hard to escape notice,” she spat.

“You got me there,” Ling said, trying to imitate the rich quality of Greed’s laugh. He tried to ignore the fact that she had apparently been following him for over a week without him noticing. “Next time, I’ll be more careful. But it was all for nothing! You don’t have to worry about the brat getting in your way anymore.”

“Even though you’re protecting him?” 

“Protecting him?” Ling laughed. She bit his arm, though since it was a part that was covered up by Greed’s Shield, Ling didn’t even feel it.

_I do not laugh that much!_

“The kid’s mine now! You think I’d let him get hurt when I’m inside his body? But I’m in charge now, so he’s not going to go running off to Xing any time soon. Look, I make it a rule not to kill people unnecessarily, so I’ll let you go. But if you try this again, I just might decide it _is_ necessary.” Ling squeezed her shoulder with his claws then released her, moving back in case she tried something.

 _You call that a threat?_ Greed demanded. _You don’t even sound like me! I should just take back control!_

 _I’d happily hand over the reins if you could finish the lie_ , Ling shot back. _But since you don’t lie, shut up and let me get us out of this situation._

The assassin eyed him warily, carefully reaching out to grab her knife, not taking her eyes off Ling for even an instant. Then with a swiftness that Ling could barely track, she disappeared. It was only because Ling could sense her qi that he knew she had not literally vanished.

Figuring it was better to give up power than have it taken from him, Ling handed over control of the body to Greed. _We should go find everyone and move camp. I don’t trust that assassin to be scared off for long._

 _Who’s in charge here?_ Greed grumbled, but he set off to do just that.

* * *

Of their group, Ling’s face was the only one not officially wanted by the government, so it made the most sense for him and Greed to be the ones to go into town and stock up on supplies. The only problem with that was that they were both extremely distractible. Although Heinkel and Darius had given them strict enough instructions that they did not waste much money on non-vital things, their use of time was another matter entirely.

 _Ooh, look at that used clothes store!_ Ling exclaimed, mentally directing Greed’s attention to the building across the street. He could practically feel Greed’s glee sharpen as he immediately changed course to head inside. They had already spent all their money, so it wasn’t like they could really buy anything else, but that didn’t mean looking around at everything wouldn’t be fun, and Greed was not above stealing if he wanted something badly enough.

Greed glanced around at the cramped rows of various articles of clothing before heading over to a random aisle. “I used to wear something like this.” He pulled out a black leather vest with the hand that wasn’t holding all of their shopping. “It had white fur around the collar though.”

 _That sounds horrendous_ , Ling informed him. _You are not putting anything like that on my body._

“Unfortunately.” Greed sighed. He glanced around, but there were no vests matching his description.

 _You’re already making me look edgy in all this black_ , Ling complained. _I don’t need to look terrible as well._

Greed kept the vest with him and began perusing through other aisles, adding to the rapidly growing stack of clothing in his arms, carefully balancing them on top of all the shopping bags from other stores he was already carrying.

 _Are you going to grab every piece of clothing in here, or are you going to try this stuff on at some point?_ Ling asked.

 _Eh, I will eventually._ Greed moved on to the next aisle which was full of dresses. He pulled out a dark purple one with glittering sequins. _Do you think you’d fit into this?_

 _Probably?_ Ling said. _I didn’t know you wear dresses._

 _As if my greed could be limited by gender,_ Greed scoffed. _And this is very sparkly._

 _It certainly is,_ Ling agreed.

 _The Devil’s Nest used to have all kinds of people,_ Greed said a little distantly. Ling mentally stilled. Greed avoided thinking about the previous Greed’s life as much as possible, and Ling was pretty sure that this was the first time that he had brought up his past life without a rush of blinding pain. He had only caught glimpses of Greed’s old bar through flashes of memory, but that statement seemed pretty in line with what little he knew. _We used to have a drag night every month or so._

 _Drag night?_ Ling asked.

_You know, where you dress up in clothes of the opposite gender and show off and party. It was a lot of fun._

_Huh._ After over two months of so much isolation, being among a crowd of other people, with the ability to let loose and not hide sounded incredibly tempting. Ling wasn’t sure how much he would have enjoyed a drag night under normal circumstances, since a life under the threat of assassination had taught him to prefer small groups of close friends over large groups of strangers, especially drunk ones. But with the safety and company that Greed inherently provided, Ling thought he might be able to enjoy it a lot. _Maybe after the Promised Day, if we’re all still here, we can find a place that has drag nights and go to one._

 _We’ll have a blast,_ Greed said. He moved on to the next aisle and touched a light green bathrobe made of some thick velvet-y material. _Holy shit, I wasn’t going to try this on, but it’s so soft._

From what Ling could tell through his slightly muted senses, it really was. _I can’t see any of us wearing this, but are you sure you can’t steal it and use it as a blanket? I’d never want to get out of bed with this._

 _It’d probably get dirt in it and become less soft,_ Greed said regretfully. He added the robe to his stack of clothes and finally headed toward the fitting room. _Once I rule the world, I’ll have to come back and find this._

If it was still there, Ling didn’t say.

Inside the dressing room, Greed dumped his pile of clothing onto the stool and grabbed the first thing on top of it, which happened to be the robe. He took off his jacket and shirt before putting the robe on, right side over the left, clearly enjoying the feel of the soft fabric.

 _You know, in Xing, any clothing that overlaps in the front like that, you’re supposed to have the left side over the right,_ Ling said. It was a little disorientating, looking down at himself and seeing it the opposite like that, even though the style was not at all Xingese.

_Huh, really? Why?_

_Only the dead wear it the other way around._

_Good thing I already died then,_ Greed said with a snort.

But _Ling_ wasn’t dead, he wanted to protest. Except there was a small part of him that wondered if that was actually true. He only existed in the back of his own mind, spending his days floating amongst tormented souls from a long dead civilization, watching his body move and act outside his will, so could he really say that he was alive? That wasn’t exactly the kind of question Ling wanted to be contemplating while the homunculus who controlled his body tried on various ridiculous pieces of clothing, so he pushed it aside.

 _How exactly did you die?_ Ling asked before he realized that it wasn’t a much better train of thought. He knew Wrath had something to do with it, after destroying Greed’s bar and killing his friends, and that Father was also there, but he didn’t know the details. He didn’t know if Greed remembered what it felt like to die.

There was a brief pause. _I don’t want to talk about it._

 _Okay_ , Ling said. It was bound to be a traumatic memory, if Greed even did remember it. _If you ever do want to properly talk about it, it’s not like I can leave._ Then because he knew Greed could be a bit thick when it came to emotional stuff and he didn’t want to be misunderstood, Ling added, _I’m here for you if you ever need it._

 _Oh,_ Greed thought, and Ling thought there was a vaguely stunned quality to his silence. _Thanks? I’ll, uh, keep that in mind._ Ling wasn’t sure if he had ever heard Greed sound so flustered. _Anyway, what do you think of this shirt?_

 _Tacky,_ Ling said immediately, scrutinizing their reflection in the mirror. _Too many feathers._

 _Hmm, yeah, you are kind of right,_ Greed said. He didn’t bring the subject back up again.

* * *

“I don’t get the point of this game,” Greed complained, sprawled out on top of his sleeping bag. “I always tell the truth anyway.”

“You don’t always answer,” Ed pointed out from atop his own bedding. “Besides, you get to ask Ling and I questions too. And we could ask you to do a dare instead.”

 _Look, if you can offer a better suggestion for something to do..._ Ling said, knowing that Greed would have none. Having set up camp for the night, with enough fish caught from the nearby lake to last them at least a couple of days, the three of them had no nearby threats and nothing to fill the afternoon with. Heinkel was napping on the other side of camp, and Darius was off somewhere else, so Ed had recruited Ling and Greed to play a game of truth or dare. 

Ling didn’t think he had ever wanted to play a game more badly than he did now, just for the opportunity to move his own mouth, to be able to speak directly to someone other than Greed without their life being in any kind of danger. 

“You can go first,” Ed offered.

“Uh, sure. Ed, truth or dare?” Greed asked.

“Truth.”

“How come you have metal limbs and Al doesn’t have a body?”

 _Ooh, going right for the serious questions,_ Ling said.

“We committed the taboo of human transmutation,” Ed said, a little shortly. “Truth gave us some knowledge, but we had to pay a price. The bastard. You know what, I’m not picking truth anymore, screw that guy. Ling, truth or dare.”

Greed mentally shifted to the side, giving Ling the room to take over. Ling did so immediately, not wanting to waste a second of this. The moment he slid into place, the world seemed to fill with a vibrancy that he couldn’t quite experience locked up in his mind. He curled and uncurled his fingers just for the sensation of it, just because he could.

 _Are you going to answer, or do I get control back?_ Greed asked, and Ling was brought back to reality.

“I’ll take truth,” Ling said, relishing the way the consonants slipped off his tongue, the way Ed could hear what he wanted Ed to hear without it going through Greed first.

“Are you doing okay in there?” Ed asked immediately, more concern in his voice than Ling had expected from someone who hadn’t really known him all that long.

He swallowed back a weird choking sensation. “I mean, being possessed isn’t my ideal state of existence, and I’m desperate for human interaction, but other than that... I’m not doing bad. Greed and I mostly get along. If I pester him enough for something, he usually gives in. It’s better now that we’re away from the other homunculi.”

Ed looked at him intently for a beat, like he was trying to see anything Ling might be hiding behind those words. Admittedly, Ling _had_ put a somewhat optimistic spin on the situation, but he had only said the truth. “That’s good.”

“Okay, truth or dare, Greed?” Ling said, reluctantly drawing back to allow room for Greed to step in. 

“Dare,” Greed said.

Ling almost protested. They had spent a lot of time in the sewers doing dumb shit just to drive away the boredom, and Ling wasn’t sure if there were many dare-worthy things that he hadn’t already gotten Greed to do. But this was a new place and with different things around them, and there had to be something different from back then that could be made into a dare.

He nudged at Greed to move out of the way and give him back control, and after an awkward bit where Greed briefly tightened his hold on their body, he allowed Ling to move in. “I dare you to throw away one of the rocks from your collection.”

“What?” Greed demanded, pushing his way back. “You can’t do that!”

 _It’s completely within the rules of the game,_ Ling said. _I don’t think it’s too late for you to switch to truth, but I won’t make it an easy one if you do that._

“Fine,” Greed muttered, pulling out the pretty pebbles from his pocket that he had been collecting for a few weeks now.

“Another rule,” Ed said. “No talking silently between yourselves. If Ling has something to say, let him say it.”

“But it’s so awkward to switch,” Greed grumbled. He was staring at his various rocks, clearly struggling to pick one.

“Then get used to it,” Ed snapped.

Ling reached for control of their face just to test it, and Greed slid out of the way. “Aw, sweet, you really will let me talk whenever I want to.”

Greed pushed himself forward. “Shut up, brat.” He finally chose a rock and flung it out into the forest. It didn’t land that far off, and Ling had a feeling that after this was over, Greed would go out looking for it.

“Ed,” Greed said. “I dare you to transmute this rock into a statue of me.” He pointed at one of the stones circling the firepit.

Rolling his eyes, Ed clapped his hands together and made a decent imitation of Ling, an exaggeratedly evil grin pasted across his face to indicate who was in charge.

“Hell yeah,” Greed said, picking it up and turning it over.

“Truth or dare, Greed?” Ed asked.

“Eh, I’ll go with truth this time,” Greed said.

“A while back, you said you weren’t working with the homunculi anymore because you attacked Wrath. Why did you break away from them?”

Greed looked up from the stone figurine, and Ling could tell he was biting back some sharp evasive remark. “He took everything away from the previous Greed. I couldn’t let that slide.”

“Oh yeah, how much do you even remember of your past life?” Ed asked.

“Only one question, pipsqueak,” Greed said, and Ed scowled at him. He looked down at himself. “So what are you going with, brat? Truth or dare?”

The switch of control was smoother this time, a little more practiced, with less metaphorical elbowing and stepping on each other’s fingers. “I’ll take truth,” Ling said before drawing back.

“Hmm, what’s one thing you didn’t tell me about yourself back when we were with Father because you didn’t trust me?”

“Who says I trust you now?” Ling asked, taking back his body with a surprising lack of resistance or even manoeuvring.

Internally, Greed froze.

“Just kidding,” Ling said quickly, wondering why he was quite so eager to make sure the entity possessing him wasn’t offended. “Now that you aren’t working with people who aren’t trying to kill everyone in the country, I’m more willing to tell you things.”

Greed gently nudged Ling’s hold over their body, and feeling a little surprised by the politeness of the action, Ling stepped aside. “Since you made me throw away one of my possessions, you’d better answer.”

“Thanks for letting me hear both sides of the conversation, but those pauses in between are kind of weird,” Ed said.

“Whiny baby,” Ling muttered, meaning both of them. “Okay, you asked me about Lan Fan that one time, right? She’s my bodyguard, but honestly we’re almost like siblings. We grew up together, and she’s probably the person I care the most about. She’s always so determined to protect me, and I worry that one day that’s going to get her hurt. And that’s why I didn’t want to tell you about her. I can’t protect her right now, but at least I could not put her into danger.”

Greed was silent, but he didn’t seem offended, just thoughtful.

Ling turned to Ed. “Is there... out of the game, is there anything you know about Lan Fan’s current situation? That you didn’t tell me before?” Once they had teamed up, Ed had told him what he knew about Lan Fan, and Ling knew that Ed wouldn’t have kept any major details to himself, but now that he could ask directly, he had to try.

Ed shook his head. “Sorry.”

“Okay,” Ling said, not surprised but still a little disappointed. “Well... Ed, I dare you to pet Heinkel’s head.”

“But then he’d kill me!” Ed protested.

Ling grinned brightly. “You should have more confidence in yourself! I’m sure he’ll only mildly mutilate you!”

“My dare was worse,” Greed said grumpily, because apparently he was still sour about that.

Ed made a face at both of them, then stood up to creep across the campsite to where Heinkel was napping against a tree. Looking back at them, Ed flipped them off and tentatively reached a hand out to the top of Heinkel’s head. Ed’s hand had barely brushed his hair when Heinkel jolted upright, and Ed sprung back a few feet.

Both Greed and Ling snickered as Heinkel started yelling.

“It was a dare!” Ed shouted as he ran back towards the firepit. 

Greed and Ling’s laughter abruptly cut off when Heinkel turned to glare at them. With their shield and regenerative powers, they were extremely well protected from any physical attack, but somehow that look, full of irritation and disappointment was worse than any blow, and it cut right through Ling.

“Sorry,” Ling called out, genuinely regretful. He just knew Heinkel and Darius were going to team up to make him do all the worst chores after this. The only thing going for him was that it would be Greed who would shoulder the brunt of that.

“Heh, that was pretty funny,” Ed said, smirking. “I bet you didn’t expect that _you_ would get into any trouble for that! Anyway, truth or dare, Ling?”

“Dare,” Ling said, since he had answered with truth last time.

“Well,” Ed said after a moment. “Because Greed won’t shut up about it, I dare you to find that pebble he threw.”

Even though that dare was probably just meant to appease Greed, it gave Ling some extra time in control of his own body, for which he was grateful. He headed off in the direction he remembered Greed throwing the rock, enjoying the small sensations of the physical world. Even Greed’s unbearable smugness wasn’t enough to stop Ling from delighting in the ability to move.

He pushed aside the leaves of a fern to see if anything was under them and spent a moment to appreciate the direct effect he had on something real, the way his actions had a visible impact on the world around him. It was probably pretty pathetic, but Ling couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment.

He spent a few minutes searching for the pebble before finally finding it and returning back to the camp.

“Greed, truth or dare?” Ling asked, once he sat down across from Ed.

“Truth,” Greed said. “Look at where it got me the last time I chose dare with you.”

“What’s the first thing you’ll do if you ever become ruler of the world?” Ling asked.

“Huh?” Greed said. “What do you mean?”

“You plan to rule the world, so if that does happen, what is the first thing you would do with that power?” Ling repeated patiently.

“How should I know?” Greed demanded, pretty much confirming Ling’s suspicions that Greed wanted ownership of the world in name more than in reality. Ling knew that his own exact plans as the Emperor of Xing would depend a lot on what the political climate was like when he came into power, but he still had many concrete courses of action he wanted to take as well as dozens of vaguer goals and ideals. Greed seemed to have none of these.

“Historically speaking, people who rule solely through improvisation and instinct have not done that well,” Ling said.

“Well, then first of all, I’d find some people to deal with the day to day stuff,” Greed said. “If you manage to get your own body by then, I guess you’d be in charge of Xing.”

“Thanks,” Ling said dryly.

“Would you really be ruling the world then?” Ed asked skeptically, voicing exactly what Ling had decided it would be better not to say.

“Of course!” Greed said.

“Best not to argue with him,” Ling whispered to Ed. Without his permission, his right hand poked his left arm hard, and Ling rolled his eyes.

“Truth or dare, brat.”

“Truth,” Ling said.

Greed thought about it for a moment, hesitating before he slipped back in charge. “What’s the thing that you want most in the world?”

“To be Emperor of Xing,” Ling said without missing a beat. It was the thing he had worked his whole life towards, the dream that had shaped every moment of his existence and gotten him into the situation he was in now. There was no contest about it.

“Really?” Ed asked. “You don’t seem like the kind of person.”

“What does that mean?” Ling asked, not quite sure if he should be offended or not. Surely he had made it clear to Ed how much his goal meant to him, given his motivation behind every major action he had made from their first meeting until he had gotten possessed.

Ed rolled his eyes. “I mean first of all, the future Emperor of Xing shouldn’t mooch off random alchemists for meals all the time. But also you aren’t, I dunno, power hungry? I mean you mentioned something about duties to your clan, but then that doesn’t sound like a personal desire.”

Ling had barely opened his mouth to respond when Greed nudged him to the side. He could fight over this bit of control, and he figured there was a pretty good chance that Greed would even let him keep it long enough to say whatever he wanted to say. But Greed had been surprisingly polite in the conversation so far, and Ling didn’t mind waiting a bit longer to say his piece, so he stepped aside.

“It makes perfect sense to me,” Greed said, and Ling decided he had made the correct decision, since now he had some extra support. “You just want to protect your people, but you can only do that by having enough power to stop others from hurting them. Plus if you rule all of Xing, then there’s a whole bunch more people that become yours that you get to protect.”

Ling, who had been reaching back for control, froze. He had never considered that last aspect of becoming the ruler of Xing. He had always been so focused on helping his clan and worrying about the competition from other clans that he hadn’t thought about how if he became the Emperor, people from every clan would become his people that he would have to take care of, regardless of how he felt about their leaders. He would have a duty to improve the lives of everyone in the country, not just the ones he was closest to.

“Yeah, something like that,” Ling said.

“Wait, is that why you want to rule the world, Greed?” Ed asked, frowning. “So you can make everybody yours and protect them?”

“I—” Greed said. “I want to own the world because I’m Greed! Wanting things is my thing! And if I have everything, then that might be enough to fill the emptiness inside me.”

Ed raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Yep,” Ling said, sharing an exasperated look with Ed. “Unfortunately he really is that dense.”

“What are you talking about?” Greed demanded.

“You didn’t actually answer my question,” Ed pointed out. Greed didn’t lie, but he certainly deflected.

“Well, it’s not your turn in the game,” Greed said. “I don’t have to answer.”

“Okay, Greed,” Ling said, exaggeratedly patient. “Is that the reason why you want—”

Greed shoved him out of the way. It wasn’t particularly rough, and Ling probably could have fought it if he wanted to, but he had grown accustomed enough to the easy back and forth that it was jarring. “I didn’t say I wanted to do truth!”

Ed cackled. “Have you secretly been a huge softie this whole time?”

Greed scoffed. “It’s getting late, let’s go eat dinner now or something.”

 _You are not fooling anyone,_ Ling informed him, unable to keep the amusement out of his tone.

 _Shut up,_ Greed grumbled. _I don’t know what you’re talking about._

 _Sure_ , Ling said, drawing out the vowel. His quest was still far from over, and the people he cared about most were far away from him. Even so, with Ed still laughing in the background, and Greed pouting inside his head, Ling couldn’t help but feel a small wave of contentedness wash over him.

* * *

“Hey, Ling!”

Greed opened his eyes but didn’t bother lifting his head from where it was cushioned against his arms. “It’s Greed.”

“Yeah,” Ed said impatiently. “Move over and let me ask Ling a question.”

“What kind of question?” Greed asked. “I’ll ask him for you.”

“Just let me talk to Ling,” Ed said, his tone growing snappier by the syllable. “You keep him shut up in there all the time.” Ling had mentioned being tired of having no one to talk to besides Greed only a few days ago. Maybe Ed had remembered that. He didn’t normally push so hard to talk to Ling directly.

“What’s your question about?” Greed asked suspiciously.

Ed sighed. “Darius and I were arguing over various languages, and I need to know if I’m right about Xingese.”

“Right about what in Xingese?” Greed asked

 _You know that even if Ed asks you the question, I’m not going to tell you the answer, right?_ Ling said, a little grumpily. After his small taste of freedom, going back to being shut away felt even worse, and he had no sympathy for Greed. _I’d like to have my body back for a bit too._

“I let him out one time, and now you _both_ think it’ll happen whenever,” Greed grumbled. “No way.”

“What’s your problem?” Ed snapped.

Greed sneered at Ed. “If you aren’t going to ask your question, let me get back to my nap.”

Ed swore at Greed a bit, but Ling wasn’t paying attention. _Why are you so against giving up control?_ he asked, trying not to sound like he was pleading. _You know I’m not going to run off and ruin your life or anything. Even if I wanted to, you could stop me at any time._

 _It’s the only thing I have left,_ Greed said, a little more honest than Ling was expecting. 

“You aren’t even listening, are you, bastard,” Ed snapped.

 _It’s not the only thing you have,_ Ling said, trying to figure out how to use Greed’s own terminology and world view to convince him. _You have your rock collection and clothes and supplies and stuff. You have Ed and the chimeras. And even when you’re not controlling my body, you still sort of have me._

There was silence inside their head, broken by Ed yelling. “You better be ignoring me because Ling is trying to convince you!”

“He is, so shut up,” Greed said, and Ed finally fell silent, watching them with a sharp glare.

 _I’ll hand back the reins after a minute,_ Ling promised. He would have loved to have full control of his body for a much longer period of time, preferably forever, but since that wasn’t an option, he would much rather make some sort of arrangement that might allow him to have more chances in the future. _What are you so worried about?_

Greed was silent for a long moment. “Fine, whatever! Just stop pestering me about it!”

Ling sensed some coiling hurt as Greed mentally retreated, and Ling felt a burst of annoyance. He knew Greed was giving him control so he wouldn’t be questioned too closely, but he didn’t understand why it bothered him so much. It wasn’t like Greed was the one being pushed down, forced to be silent and invisible and barely there all the time.

But that was something to think about sometime later. Ling was sick of being cooped up, and there was no way he was wasting any of his precious time worrying about someone that all logic said he shouldn’t like.

“Thanks for getting Greed to let me out,” he said brightly, ignoring the vague grumbling feeling that was coming from Greed.

Ed rolled his eyes. “I only did it so you can tell Darius I’m right about how in Xingese the same sounds at different pitches have different meanings. He thinks that just because he knows Aerugonian, he’s some language expert.”

“Well,” Ling said, hesitating. He didn’t want to make Ed mad at him too. Then again, that seemed to be Ed’s normal state of being, and it hadn’t stopped him from showing concern over Ling before. “You’re not exactly right, but there are tones which is probably what you mean?”

“Then tell me what the difference is!”

Ling stuck his tongue out, but complied, firmly focusing on his brief freedom instead of anything else that could be bothering him.

* * *

Greed let Ling have his body for longer than he expected, and when he finally did come back, he ran off to climb a tree and sat there, pointedly _not sulking_ , for hours after the sun had set.

Eventually Ling’s irritation at Greed’s childish behavior had tapered out, and now he was mostly just tired. He didn’t enjoy arguing with people, and it was worse when they were trapped together. Ling couldn’t have some time alone to cool off, and the tension between them was impossible to fully ignore. Which meant he had to confront the issue.

 _Greed,_ Ling tried. _I know you don’t like talking about your feelings, but if we’re going to live like this, I really need to know what’s going inside your mind, and I think you need to know what’s going on in mine._

 _We’ve already talked about feelings,_ Greed muttered. **_A lot_ ** _after Wrath and Bido. I don’t want to even think about a feeling after that._

 _These are different feelings,_ Ling said, trying to hold onto what patience he had left. _We both want control of this body. We both have strong reasons for wanting that. If we talk to each other and try to understand where each person is coming from, we might be able to come to some sort of agreement._

 _‘Some sort of agreement,’_ Greed scoffed. _That just means you’ll get more time in charge. How does that benefit me in any way?_

Ling sighed. _It means that every time some excuse for me to take charge comes up, we won’t have to fight over it. I don’t know about you, but I really hate fighting the person who is in my body and can’t leave._

There was a brief contemplative silence. _Fine. But you go first._

Ling hesitated. Somehow, opening up to the morally gray, emotionally illiterate being possessing him was easier in thought than practice. _I’d say it’s pretty obvious,_ Ling said, though once he said it, he realized that it might not be for Greed. _I don’t like feeling so completely powerless. I don’t like feeling like I don’t exist. I don’t have any impact on the world or people around me unless you allow it, and it’s incredibly suffocating. And I’m willing to put up with that for the most part because I got myself into this mess and I don’t have much choice in the matter and there’s a chance that it means I’ll become Emperor, but it would mean a lot if I could have a bit of time in control of my own body._

He had no idea whether that was enough to get through to Greed. For all he knew, Greed couldn’t or wouldn’t empathize with him and see how horribly isolating it was to watch the world go by without being able to interact with it, how liberating and relieving just being able to say a few words or move a limb was.

 _What about you?_ Ling asked. _Why is it so important to you to remain in control?_

 _I... don’t like feeling used,_ Greed said after a moment. _My entire existence—both of them—only happened because Father wanted someone who would work for him. And I know you only accepted me because you wanted my power._

Ling couldn’t exactly argue with that. _I’m sorry. That genuinely sucks. I don’t just see you as a means to an end now, but that obviously doesn’t erase the circumstances of our arrangement or the stuff with Father. But you think I don’t feel the same way?_ He tried to keep his tone level and as non-accusatory as possible. The point of this was to understand the other person and make peace, after all. He didn’t want to get caught up in his own injustices to the point where he destroyed all chances of compromise. _Originally, we both wanted the other person to benefit ourselves. You’ve been getting a lot out of having my body, but your power hasn’t really helped me in any way so far. So I also feel a bit used._

 _I didn’t agree to that deal beforehand,_ Greed said, though he didn’t sound particularly bitter about it or anything. There was an almost contemplative silence afterwards. Ling hoped that meant his words had gotten through to Greed at least a little, that he was trying to consider that Ling also had similar reasons for wanting control as Greed did. _So we talked about it. Now what?_

 _Well,_ Ling said, scrambling to come up with something. He had only ever learned about diplomatic compromises, and while some of that was helpful here, it wasn’t exactly enough to prepare him to lead an emotional conversation over something so important to the continued stability of their relationship. _I understand why you’re so defensive about keeping the body to yourself. So I’ll be more considerate of that, to try to not make you feel used or push too hard if you want control. And you understand why I want time to be in charge. I can’t make you do anything, but I hope you also see where I’m coming from._

 _I’ll let you out a little more often,_ Greed said reluctantly.

 _I think we should define terms more specifically,_ Ling said. _That way we don’t have to do this again._

_Ten minutes per day._

_An hour,_ Ling said. _And I’ll promise not to steal the reins when you’re weak or distracted._ He hadn’t done that in awhile, not since the aftermath of killing Bido, but he figured he might as well throw that in there. 

_Wait a second,_ Greed said. _How do we keep track of time?_

 _Um._ Maybe that was something Ling should have considered before arguing over precisely how many minutes he got. _Someone must have a watch they can lend us._

 _Alright,_ Greed said. _Well then, half an hour, and you don’t steal control._

 _Forty five minutes, and you let me be in charge in any situation that we can both agree I’d be a lot better at handling than you,_ Ling said out of some bargaining instinct. He didn’t have any more leverage, nothing more to offer Greed. There was no reason for Greed to give Ling the extra fifteen minutes, because he would have nothing to gain. Sure, Ling could steal moments of control like he had when they first became like this, but he had already said that he hated the fighting. Even half an hour a day was so much better than what he previously had that he wouldn’t want to risk losing it. Ling had laid all his cards on the table, and the power balance was tipped in Greed’s favor.

 _Okay, deal,_ Greed said. _I’ll hold my end if you do yours._

Which wasn’t what Ling was expecting, but Greed didn’t lie, so he knew this deal would be upheld. _Men from Xing keep their word. You can count on it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A while back, I asked for Team Greed shenanigans on tumblr, so thank you to ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 for the idea of Ed annoying Greed into letting Ling out to ask him a question about Xing


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a secondhand panic attack in the first scene.

“I’m sick of roasted rabbit meat,” Darius muttered, glaring at the dead rabbit lying next to the firepit in front of him. “We’ve been practically living off it for an entire month now.”

“And those awful beans Greed bought,” Ed said under his breath.

“Heinkel and Darius made me get the cheapest kind!” Greed protested.

 _Not that you would have cared much either way,_ Ling said. _Your sense of taste is shit._

 _Just because we don’t all have your fancy tastes—_ Greed grumbled.

“Just throwing those things into a soup would probably be better,” Heinkel said. “At least the texture would be different.”

Ed leapt up and went to the nearest large rock, clapping his hands together to transmute it into a pot. “There we go, let’s make soup.”

“Thank God,” Darius muttered. “Why didn’t you do this before?”

“I didn’t know you wanted soup!” Ed snapped back.

“Alright, the two of us will go sniff out plants,” Heinkel said, gesturing between himself and Darius. “Greed, could you go get firewood?”

The rest of the group had long since learned that ordering Greed to do anything just resulted in a ridiculous amount of posturing, but asking him to do something in an authoritative enough voice usually got him to do it.

“Fine,” Greed muttered, standing up to head out into the woods. “Why do _I_ always have to do this kind of thing?”

 _Well, unless you’ve recently got back any detailed memories of camping with your Dublith gang or something, there’s not much else we can do._ Ling was almost certain Greed hadn’t. Other pieces of his past life had been sporadically coming back to Greed since he left the homunculi, but from what Ling could tell, it was all vague and scattered without much detail or clarity. Greed had gotten better at keeping his returning flashes of memory to himself, so Ling didn’t see them anymore, but he was pretty sure Greed would have said something if he had gotten any useful knowledge out of them.

“I’m gonna give you your forty five minutes,” Greed said.

 _You can’t just use this deal to get out of chores!_ Ling protested, though not with too much annoyance. If he hurried, he could gather more than enough wood to last them the night in less than half the amount of time he was given. Still, in the week since they had come to this arrangement, Greed had become a lot more willing to take on dull tasks, and Ling knew it would soon grow annoying.

_Just try and stop me._

It didn’t take long for Ling to return to their campsite with a heaping armful of firewood. He stayed to hang around as Ed filled the pot with bits of chopped meat and vegetables and a can of beans, chatting the whole while.

“...plus there was this delicious chowder I had back in that hotel in Central,” Ling continued.

“Which you still owe me for,” Ed muttered.

Ling ignored him. “It was pretty different from any Xingese soups I’ve had. I’ve had soup from Eastern Drachma and some other nearby countries too, and I don’t think any of them have ever been quite so creamy. You know, now that I think about it, I’ve eaten a lot of soups, but I’ve never seen it made, so this is really quite interesting! Aren’t you supposed to add some water to it at some point?”

Ed closed his eyes and sighed. “You know, I didn’t think I’d ever ask this, but Greed, please come back. I swear, if I have to listen to Ling for another second...”

From Greed’s side of their shared brainspace, Ling felt a twinge of glee. He was probably smug about being told to come back instead of to go away for once. “Oh, are you embarrassed that you forgot to add the water?” Ling asked, grinning widely. “Because there’s no need to be ashamed! We’ve all made stupid mistakes before.”

“I’m cooking all this first so it doesn’t turn into soggy mulch,” Ed growled. “Seriously, Greed, get this idiot prince to shut up.”

 _Time’s about up, kid,_ Greed said, nudging at Ling to move over. Ling glanced down at the watch he had borrowed from Darius, and sure enough, it was around time to switch. Sighing heavily both out loud and internally, Ling let Greed step back into control.

“Happy to see me back?” Greed asked, a sharper version of Ling’s earlier grin spreading across his face.

“Not anymore,” Ed muttered. He poured in the bucket of water into the pot, and Ling wished he could have held control for a moment longer just to tease him. Something about how Ed could come up with as many excuses as he pleased, but it was a bit telling that he only added in the water after Ling had pointed it out. Ed would absolutely have started shouting after that, Ling thought with some fondness. With not much other entertainment, winding Ed up had grown to a favorite pastime of both Greed and Ling.

Greed stood up and leaned against a tree, his arms crossed as he took in the scene. Ed was stirring the soup, the flames underneath flickering away, curling up against the base of the pot. The small circle of light from the fire cast the whole camp into shadow, the trees beyond it tall and dark, with the faint purples of twilight near the edges of the visible sky.

Because their group was trying to remain unnoticed, they usually avoided using fires, and when they did have one, they kept the flames low, cooking their meat over a few coals. Now, however, the fire burned brightly, and Ling wondered if enough time had passed that they were starting to relax their safety precautions somewhat.

This late into the winter, the days were cold, the nights freezing, and what little fire they had was not nearly enough to drive it away. But tonight, with the flames blazing in front of them, Ling thought that maybe after a few more minutes of soaking in the heat, he would be able to remember what it felt like to be warm. Ling wanted to enjoy it, but a strange growing sense of unease from Greed made that a little difficult to do.

 _What’s wrong?_ he asked.

 _Nothing,_ Greed said.

 **_Something_ ** _is, because you feel pretty agitated._

 _I don’t know!_ Greed snapped. _Unless you can feel anything with those weird senses of yours, nothing’s going on!_

Maybe Greed was just nervous because this fire was more likely to attract attention, Ling thought. Either way, it seemed like it would be best not to bother him.

From where Greed was standing, Ling could see into the pot, tiny bursts of air popping at the surface as steam curled up into the cool night air. As Ed continued to stir, the bubbles, like that sense of wrongness, began to build up even more. The water was moving faster and faster though the stirring remained at the same pace, the bubbles growing bigger and bigger, some floating above the surface, until finally it began to boil over, a mass of churning liquid swarming into the middle of the pot.

At that moment, something in Greed seemed to break.

When Greed had killed Bido, the sheer force of his memories returning had smashed the mental walls between them, and everything going through his mind had been shoved into Ling’s, nearly drowning him out. The memories had been far gentler recently, and Ling only knew about them because of the weird stillness coming from Greed and the slightly more contemplative mood that always seemed to follow.

This was not like either of those. Ling couldn’t see what Greed was remembering; there were no blurred images of people Greed had once cared about, no names or information or anything to let Ling know what was going on. There was only a feeling of rapidly spiralling downwards, like a whirlpool that Ling stood at the edge of, fighting not to get sucked into.

Greed crumpled to his knees, his eyes falling shut, but with all the pain and panic between Ling and his limited access to their senses, he barely noticed the darkness. The only thing he could feel was their heart pulsing through every thought, and a trembling, shaking sensation that seemed to go past their limbs and into the mental space they shared, into Ling’s very core. Every breath was choked, as if a tight bandage was around his chest. Just sucking in a gulp of air felt like lifting up the world.

Ling fought to keep calm beyond it all. He knew that it had something to do with the pot and the heat which had once been relaxing but now felt suffocating. He had to get away.

About to grab control, Ling hesitated. He had promised Greed he wouldn’t do that, but these were unusual circumstances, and he knew that staying here would not do either of them any good. _Greed?_ he tried, shouting above the rushing of the souls. They didn’t normally seem this loud, this dizzying. _I’m going to get us out of here. Give me some sign if you don’t want me to._

If Greed had heard Ling, he gave no indication. After a beat, Ling pushed into the forefront, and Greed offered no resistance.

Suddenly every sensation was a thousand times clearer, a thousand times sharper. Ling was the one straining for every breath, the one whose entire body felt like it was on fire, even though it wasn’t his mind causing this reaction.

He stood up on shaky legs, carrying them out of there as Ed shouted something behind them. The memory of running from Wrath popped into his head with more force than Ling was comfortable with. This wasn’t that, he told himself. They were far safer now than they were then, and he had to remember that, to keep himself calm so he could try to help with whatever was going on with Greed.

Finding a tree with low limbs, Ling pulled himself up, clinging tightly to the branch he was sitting on, the rough bark digging into his palms. He did not try to climb higher. Reality was blurry enough that he didn’t trust himself not to fall out.

He could have handed the reins back to Greed, but he wasn’t sure if Greed would take it, pressed back against the far side of their mind. Ling loosened his grip on his control, making it very easy if Greed changed his mind, and closed his eyes.

He tried to take a steady breath, counting his heartbeats as he inhaled, _one two three four,_ and then as he exhaled, _one two three four._ He breathed in then out, the world narrowing down to the sound of his heart between his ears and the steady count of four.

Sweat cooled on his arms, and he shivered, though his face and upper chest still felt like they were burning. Ling counted his breaths and waited.

His pulse slowed, his breaths grew longer and easier, and eventually Ling was able to project a sense of calm to the other side of his brain, though Greed was still anything but. Even so, the hurt and anger streaming from Greed seemed to lessen somewhat.

After an eternity, Ling ventured a quiet, _Greed?_

There was no verbal response, but Ling felt a vague shift in Greed’s presence, and Ling knew that he was listening.

 _You don’t have to respond, but I’m here for you. Just let me know if there’s anything I can do to help._ Ling remembered the last time this happened, how there had been too much stuff between them for Ling to sincerely offer much comfort. He wondered how much had changed since then, if it was enough. He didn’t really know anything comforting to say either way.

Instead, he sent a soft feeling that he hoped would convey his support and care without having to get muddled up in words. It seemed like the closest thing to a hug he could give. That was what friends did when one was in trouble, wasn’t it? Ling supposed their circumstances were unusual enough that it didn’t matter.

 _Father killed me in a vat of molten gold,_ Greed said suddenly, and Ling felt cold protective anger curling up in his belly. This was another thing that was different from the last time. Ling had picked up what Greed remembered then, but it had been accidental, not because Greed wanted him to know.

 _That’s... horrible._ Ling had known that Father had killed Greed for some time, and there wasn’t really any form of death that would have made it any less terrible, but somehow knowing the exact method made it more real and weighty.

 _I thought I was back there for a moment,_ Greed admitted.

 _I’m sorry, that sounds awful,_ Ling said, feeling at an utter loss for words. He didn’t know how to comfort someone, and everything he could possibly say felt wrong and clunky, more likely to damage than help.

They sat in silence for a little while longer. Ling continued his steady breathing and waited as Greed’s terror evened out. The pain and chaos did not lessen, but the urgency to it was slowly evaporating.

In the distance, Ling thought he heard someone calling out, and after a few more shouts, he could hear them more clearly. “Greed! Where the fuck did you run off to?”

 _It’s Ed,_ Ling said, though he didn’t think Greed had missed that. _Do you want to go talk to him?_

 _I don’t think I could pretend to him that I’m fine._ The words were quiet, and Ling wasn’t entirely sure if Greed had meant for him to hear that or if he was simply thinking loudly to himself. Either way, Ling had his answer. He held still as Ed’s voice grew closer and Ling spotted the half-obscured flickering of torchlight.

“I swear, if I find you dead or kidnapped or something, I will punch you with my automail fist! Greed! Show your ugly face!”

 _I think he’s worried about you,_ Ling said because it seemed important for Greed to know.

Greed was quiet, and Ling couldn’t read the shift in the swarming emotions coming from him. _Huh?_ he said, way too late for the response to be natural.

“There you are!” Ed exclaimed triumphantly, shoving his torch up to fully illuminate them. “I’ve been looking all over for you! What happened?”

 _I can tell him to shove off, if you want,_ Ling said.

 _Nah, don’t worry about it,_ Greed said, finally stepping back into control. “None of your business. You done with the soup yet?”

“I don’t know, I ran off to find you,” Ed snapped. He frowned. “I hope Darius or Heinkel made sure it didn’t burn up, otherwise they’ll be pissed you wasted our food.”

Greed scoffed. “ _I_ wasted? You didn’t have to run after me, runt.”

“Because you collapsing and then suddenly running away isn’t concerning at all,” Ed bit back sarcastically. “I’m sure it happens all the time!”

“Maybe it does!”

Ling could feel the irritation boiling up in Greed like the soup from earlier. It wasn’t Ed’s fault, he knew, but the rough way he was showing his concern really wasn’t helping. _He’s just angry because you scared him. My offer to make him go away is still on the table._

 _I scared him?_ Greed asked.

_I’m not the only one who cares about your well being._

Greed froze.

“Hey, Greed?” Ed asked, somewhat softer this time.

 _He... cares? About me?_ Internally, Greed made a skeptical face.

 _You did collapse to the ground then run off for a while,_ Ling said patiently. _The last part was technically me, I guess, but either way, he’s probably frustrated that he doesn’t know what’s wrong._

“You okay?” Ed asked, a little more worry peaking through. “Are you just talking to Ling or...?”

“I remembered my death,” Greed said, and Ed’s eyes widened.

“You’re still getting memories?” Ed asked.

“Yeah,” Greed said shortly. _I don’t want to do this right now. Can you make him go away?_

 _Yes,_ Ling said. _But you could also tell him that yourself, and I’m sure he’ll leave you alone. Whichever you want to do._

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Greed said, a little slowly. “I want to be left alone.”

“Okay,” Ed said. “Do... do you need anything else? I can... I’ll be back at the camp if you need anything.”

Greed nodded mutely.

Ed hesitated, opening his mouth like he wanted to say something, but then he closed it and turned to walk away.

Greed watched him go with something like disbelief radiating from his side of the brain. _He didn’t push it._

 _Yeah,_ Ling said, suddenly remembering the intense questioning Greed had received from Father, how much pain Greed had been in and how Father had kept pressing for answers. _Like I said, he cares about you and wants to help you._

“Huh,” Greed said. Everything was still shaky from the return of his memory, but beyond that, Ling could sense some warm, bewildered thing building up in his chest. _“Huh.”_

* * *

“We fought once, right?” Greed said out of the blue a couple days later.

There was a beat of silence in the patch of woods where they were passing time with Ed and Heinkel.

“You talking to me?” Heinkel asked, cracking an eye open. He was lying on the ground, his head resting against a large root. Ling had thought him to be asleep.

“No, not you, the shrimp.”

Ed rolled his eyes, but to the disappointment of both Ling and Greed he did not start yelling or otherwise make a big reaction. “Uh, yeah? We fought when you first started possessing Ling? Did you start losing memories of this life too?”

“No, no, the old me,” Greed said. His tone was casual, but there was a bit of trepidation seeping from him. Ling was pretty sure it was the first time Greed had brought up the topic of his old life on his own to anyone besides Ling, which probably signalled some sort of progress.

“Oh yeah, we did,” Ed said. “You kidnapped Al, so I beat you up.”

 _You did what?!_ Ling demanded.

“There’s no way you beat me up,” Greed scoffed. _Yeah, I think I thought he had the secret to immortality or something._

 _So did I,_ said Ling. _But I didn’t kidnap him! Why did_ **_you_ ** _even want immortality anyway?_

Ed snorted. “You don’t think I can kick your ass?”

“Course not,” Greed said. “I have my Shield, you couldn’t do any lasting damage.”

“You’d think, huh?” Ed said, smirking. “But you told me what your Shield’s made of, so I transmuted it into something softer and cut through that.”

“Huh,” Greed said thoughtfully. “I guess carbon _does_ make up a lot of stuff. Like diamonds. Hey, make my hands into diamonds!”

Ed rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you just do it yourself?”

“What, me?” Greed tilted his head slightly.

“You can already manipulate the carbon to create your Shield, so you should be able to do other stuff with it too,” Ed said, and Ling could feel Greed light up at the realization.

“You’re totally right, I _can_ do that!” Greed said. There was a beat. “...How do I do that?”

“I’m not showing you how to make your Shield into a diamond,” Ed said flatly. “It won’t be good protection, and you already use your Shield irresponsibly for the sake of aesthetic.”

 _Like Ed can talk,_ Ling scoffed, more for the principle of the matter than because he disagreed with Ed.

“You’re one to talk, Mr. ‘all my weapons have skulls on them just because’,” Greed said.

“Well, it’s not like it hinders me in any way!” Ed snapped.

“But it _is_ tacky as hell,” Greed said. “There’s gotta be something else you can show me.”

Ed’s eyes glinted. “I could teach you how to turn your claws into pencils.”

“Hell yeah, let’s do it!” Greed said, and Ling thought he heard a snort coming from Heinkel’s direction.

“Graphite is made entirely out of carbon, like your Shield, just in a different arrangement,” Ed began. Ling had never really considered whether or not Ed would make a good teacher, but here in his area of expertise, he seemed more serious than a bored teenager telling someone how to do something funny for a joke. 

Since Ling wasn’t really able to participate, nor did he have a strong desire too, he only half-listened to Ed’s short lecture and tuned back in once Greed extended his claws out.

“You said it has layers, right?” Greed said, and his claws shifted into a somewhat shinier and softer-looking material than normal. “Huh! I did it!”

 _Wait, we don’t have paper!_ Ling said.

“Oh shit, you’re right,” Greed said.

Ed looked at him quizzically for a beat, before rolling his eyes. “What’s Ling right about?”

“We don’t have paper to test these out with!”

“Oh, pfff, that’s nothing,” Ed said, clapping his hands against a nearby piece of firewood and drawing out a flat sheet of paper which he handed to Greed.

Greed carefully placed the tip of his index claw against the paper, as Ling watched intently through his eyes. GREED, he wrote in large letters. Even this close to the surface of their mind, sensation wasn’t entirely clear, but Ling could feel the odd scratching sensation, like scraping a fingernail but smoother. 

“Hey, it works!” Greed lifted up his finger to inspect it and frowned. “It’s less sharp now though.”

“That’s how graphite works, dumbass,” Ed said. “It rubs off onto the paper. I’m sure it’ll be fine the next time you bring it out.”

Greed retracted his claws and brought them out again in the original Shield form, and sure enough, they were fine. “Awesome!” he said, grinning broadly. “When I rule the world, I’m going to do all the official paperwork like this.”

Ideally paperwork would be done in something more permanent than pencil, but Ling wasn’t going to be the one to point it out. Greed would make a horrible leader, but Ling was pretty sure that it wasn’t what Greed really wanted anyway.

“Yeah, when you rule the world,” Ed said, rolling his eyes.

Instead of being annoyed like he normally was when people acted skeptical about his grand dreams, Greed merely smirked. “I’m going to have it all, sooner or later. The world will be mine.”

* * *

When they ran out of supplies for the fourth time, Darius and Heinkel firmly vetoed the idea of Greed and Ling popping into town for a supply run. Something about ‘spending too much money on unnecessary items’ or whatever, which Ling thought was an unfair accusation. They had been very prudent the first two times, and maybe the two-tiered cake they had bought the third time wasn’t strictly vital to survival, but Ling maintained that it was important for emotional health.

But either way, Heinkel and Darius had elected to go shopping themselves, and Ed had made such a show about it that they had allowed him to come along too, providing he disguised himself well enough. Which was why Ling and Greed were left alone at camp with the whole day to themselves.

 _Hey, Greed,_ Ling said when he finally worked up the nerve to do so, a couple hours later. He wanted to have a certain conversation, and now seemed as good of a time as any.

_Yeah?_

_How are... Are you still happy with the deal we made about me getting control sometimes?_ Ling asked.

Greed sat up straight. “I wouldn’t break our deal!”

 _That’s not what I’m implying!_ Ling said. _But now that we’ve been doing this for over three weeks, if you’ve discovered that it’s rougher than you thought it’d be, then we can work something else out._ He really hoped bringing this up wouldn’t make him lose what little time in charge that he got. Not bringing it up at all and letting resentment fester would be worse, he told himself, though that was not particularly soothing.

Greed was quiet for a moment. _Are_ **_you_ ** _happy?_

 _I wouldn’t say no to more time,_ Ling said. _But, yes, I’m satisfied._ Part of him had been worried that he wouldn’t be. Forty five minutes was a lot compared to none, but Ling had wondered if after a few days of it, the glimmer of those precious few minutes would wear off and he would find himself frustrated and craving more. Instead, he had adjusted, those pent up feelings of being trapped and invisible mostly fading away. This could not be a permanent situation, but he would be fine for the next two and a half months until the Promised Day.

 _It’s not as bad as I thought it would be,_ Greed admitted. _I don’t want to change the deal._

 _Okay, good,_ Ling said, releasing a bit of tension he hadn’t known he was holding.

 _It’s a lot more peaceful without you trying to convince me to let you out every other minute,_ Greed said.

Now that Ling knew Greed was obligated to let him take over their body, Ling didn’t think he asked _less_ after they made their deal, but the way he asked had changed and maybe that was what Greed meant. Ling decided to take it as Greed admitting that he was happy that there was peace between them rather than conflict.

“Hey,” Ed called out as he stepped into view from behind a tree. He walked forward, setting down a large bag in the middle of their campsite, Heinkel and Darius right behind him.

“You’re back already?” Greed said.

Ed scoffed. “Yeah, ‘cause we’re not like you so we don’t waste half the day looking at fancy cakes or whatever it is you do on your shopping trips.”

“Hey, after spending all our time cooped up in the middle of the woods with you, we deserve to spend some time around town,” Greed said.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Ed said. “Let Ling out. I have something for him.”

Ling, who had been vaguely zoning out of the conversation, instantly perked to attention. _Ooh, a present?!_

Greed eyed Ed. “What do you have for him?”

“Let him out and you’ll see,” Ed said impatiently. “Don’t you have to let him out whenever now?”

“That’s not exactly how our deal works,” Greed muttered.

 _Well, I’m claiming my forty five minutes now,_ Ling said.

 _Fine,_ Greed said as he passed over the controls, and Ling wondered why Greed sounded so snappy about it, almost bitter, like how he was that time when Ed had a question about Xingese. 

For the past few weeks, Greed had never been more than vaguely annoyed at letting Ling be in charge, and he had even explicitly said himself that he was happy with the terms of their deal a few minutes ago. Greed hadn’t been lying, and even if he wasn’t so committed to only speaking the truth, the evidence backed it up. What piece of information was Ling missing that would connect all the pieces together? he wondered. Was Greed _jealous_?

But before Ling could consider that too much, Ed took a small box from the top of the bag and opened it to reveal a small apple pastry. Ling’s mouth instantly began to water, and he fought to keep his jaw from dropping

“Yeah, I managed to convince those two that spending a couple hundred cenz for morale was worth it,” Ed said.

Ling leapt forward to wrap Ed up in a tight hug, careful not to knock the pastry out of his hand. “My hero! What can I ever do to repay you.”

“Get off me and eat your damn pastry, weirdo,” Ed muttered, nudging Ling lightly.

After holding on for another moment, Ling let go and eagerly took the pastry from Ed. It was no longer warm after the long walk back to their camp, but he didn’t care. He spent long moments savoring the sweetness and flakiness. It had been so long since he had been able to eat something that wasn’t cooked over a campfire.

It was only once he was done that he realized Ed had stuck around and was watching him with an amused expression. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Ed said dryly.

“Thank you,” Ling said as honestly as he could. His tendency to exaggerate his sillier qualities had developed to avoid drawing too much negative attention from his rivals, and it had become extremely difficult to stop even when he was being sincere. He put in an effort though.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ed said, rolling his eyes. “Just add it to the list of all the food you owe me for.”

“Sure thing!” Ling said cheerfully.

“Anyway, I know you get forty five minutes or whatever, but I don’t want to wait that long, so can you let me talk to Greed for a minute?”

“Yeah, okay,” Ling said, puzzled. He glanced down at his watch to mark the time.

As Ling handed over the reins, Greed snatched the opportunity with an eagerness that surprised Ling, the bitterness from earlier fading away. He _was_ jealous, Ling thought. Jealous of the way Ed wanted Ling around over Greed? he wondered. ‘I thought that was your sibling’s emotion,’ Ling didn’t say because he knew that it would absolutely not help anything.

“Yeah?” Greed asked, puzzled.

Ed handed him two smooth silvery things. When Greed pulled them apart, Ling realized that they were magnets. “Seemed like the kind of thing that would keep you occupied for a while.”

Greed looked blankly up at Ed. “For me?”

“Yeah,” Ed said, and Greed’s brain shut down.

It felt like one of the times when one of Greed’s strong memories had come back, when he had been so stunned and overwhelmed by emotions neither of them quite understood that Ling could have stepped in to take over without even the smallest of fights. Except this time there was none of the pain, only shock.

By now, Ling was used to Greed’s surprise whenever anyone even implied they cared about him, though this was more extreme than what he was used to. Greed’s first couple months of life had not been surrounded by any sort of affection beyond the vague camaraderie that he and Ling had shared, and even with his hazy memories of the previous Greed, Ling didn’t think a lot of people had cared for him beyond his friends at the Devil’s Nest. It had been a sad, lonely life, and even Ling, who had always been shut off from people and forced to be more than human from an early age, couldn’t imagine what that was like. He made a note to be more affectionate with Greed, even though he wasn’t entirely sure how, not with someone so different from Lan Fan and Fu.

Ed had been staring at Greed for a long moment, but finally he scoffed and muttered, “Not even going to say thanks? A _little_ appreciation would be nice after all that arguing with Heinkel and Darius.” He began to turn away.

“Nobody’s ever given me a present before,” Greed said in a quiet voice, and Ed paused.

“I—” Ed said. “Well. You should come by the Rockbell house next winter holidays. We exchange plenty of presents then. Anyway. I’m going to see if any of my rabbit traps have sprung.”

Greed stood there in silence for a long moment, watching as Ed walked away.

* * *

“Team planning time,” Greed announced, breaking the silence one evening as their team was eating leftover dried strips of meat for dinner. 

Despite being nearly spring, it was still cold and wet and miserable this far north, especially without a fire, and Ling was sure he was not the only one who hadn’t quite been able to muster the energy for talking. There was a vague sense of irritation at nothing in particular fizzing around in his mind, just the background buzz of exhaustion after another long day in a series of many long days. He couldn’t even tell if it was coming from him or Greed or both of them. Ling did his best to ignore it, but he felt that if he opened his mouth, it would only take a nudge at the wrong time for it to all come spilling out.

Darius sighed and raised an eyebrow. “For what?”

“The Promised Day,” Greed said, to Ling’s surprise. Even though Greed had told the rest of the team what they knew about Father’s plans and had made a vague decision to try to stop it, Ling hadn’t thought Greed cared all that much about it. “It’s in less than two months. Got any preparations to do?”

“I need get my automail tuned up,” Ed said. “Resembool’s probably best. Granny can probably do it, if it’s just a tune up, and it’s a lot more rural than Rush Valley, so less chance of getting caught.”

Greed nodded.

 _Plus he probably doesn’t want to risk putting Winry in danger after she was already made a hostage before,_ Ling mused. _We should still take our time getting there, to make us harder to track._

 _I know that,_ Greed said. “We’ll start heading south tomorrow. And go for a less direct route. You two got anything?” He looked at Heinkel and Darius.

Heinkel shrugged. “I’m ready for whatever. There’s nothing I can think of that I’d have to do before then.”

“Yeah, me too,” Darius said.

“Cool,” Greed said.

And with that, silence returned, broken only by the muffled sounds of chewing.

 _So what exactly are you going to do on the Promised Day?_ Ling asked. He had never been exactly clear on what Greed wanted to do beyond show up.

 _You know, mess up my dad’s plans,_ Greed said, like Ling should have already known. Ling had paid careful attention to what Greed said about his former family, and he knew full well that Greed had not told him even this much before. Not that Ling had thought Greed would _help_ his family, but he hadn’t really shown an active intent to go against them before.

 _Why?_ Ling asked, a little annoyed that Greed was still being so vague after all this time. He wasn’t even sure if Greed was being evasive or if he was just that bad at thinking of the future.

 _Eh, I want to get back at him for taking all my stuff,_ Greed said.

Ling knew that explanation wasn’t a lie, but he also knew how much Greed had suffered over the loss of friends he could still only partially remember. Ling understood what it was like to have a distant father who ruined your life for the sake of his own gain, and he knew that whatever Greed was feeling could not really be so simple. _Just that?_

 _Yeah, and because all of you will annoy me to no end if I don’t,_ Greed said, a note of weariness that belayed his joking tone. _And... I’m this group’s leader. I can’t just abandon the rest of them to go fight him by themselves._ There was something tight in the bottom of Greed’s stomach, and Ling knew it would be just as impossible for Greed to stand by while his friends ran into danger as it would be for him.

 _I’m with you there,_ Ling said. _I’m glad you’re going._

 _Thanks for your approval,_ Greed said sarcastically, and maybe it was just that Ling was tired and bored and had been cooped up with Greed for far too long, but something about that rubbed him the wrong way. Ling had been trying to be supportive, not condescending like Greed seemed to have taken it.

 _Aw, you’re welcome!_ he said, bright and obnoxious.

Greed rolled his eyes, and Ling projected a broad grin.

 _So,_ Ling said, still filled with that angry cheerfulness that was probably not fully warranted. _You’re saying that this isn’t about two lifetimes worth of pent up anger and fear of a father who has only wanted to use you, and who keeps trying to take away everything you truly care about?_ The moment he said it, he felt Greed tense up, cold and hard. He instantly knew that he had pushed a little too far, carrying them past the territory of light and joking conversation into something too serious. He very much did not want this conversation to go there when they were in this mood. _I mean, I can relate to that,_ he added quickly.

Greed scoffed. _Can you? At least I’m fighting against_ **_my_ ** _father. You’re doing everything yours tells you to. You wouldn’t even be in this mess if you weren’t trying to get a stone for him._

Anger sparked, hot and defensive, and Ling didn’t want to fight, but he couldn’t let that stand either. _You think I’m doing this for_ ** _him?!_** _I have people to protect! Believe me, I’d love to stick it to him, but if I did, thousands of my people would be the ones to suffer for it, and for what, pride? I wouldn’t be able to actually change anything._

Something not quite like guilt or regret creeped through the cracks in their wall, and Ling knew that Greed hadn’t meant to hurt him with his words. Ling hadn’t either, but now he didn’t have the energy to try to patch things up.

 _Whatever,_ Greed muttered, drawing back.

There was no such thing as true silence inside their mind, but the quiet that settled in afterwards came pretty close.

* * *

The rain was coming down hard, and Ling had never _enjoyed_ rain at any point during his months-long camping trip, but at least the northern parts of Amestris had been thickly forested with evergreens. Given some time to construct a makeshift shelter, it generally hadn’t been too bad, and they had escaped a fair number of rainstorms without getting more than a little damp.

Unfortunately, the landscape of southeastern Amestris was not nearly so convenient. There were only a few scattered clumps of trees throughout the relatively flat plains, which was not nearly enough to provide any shelter.

They had found the sturdiest tree with the most branches they could find, but with spring still in its earliest stages, the bare branches barely kept them any dryer than sleeping under the open skies would have.

They had barely begun to set down their stuff when Ed spoke up. “If I try to sleep in this, I’ll either drown or get sick and die.”

A spark of worry from Greed flashed past their mental walls. “You’re an alchemist,” he scoffed. “Just transmute the water out of it or something.”

“Yeah, and have it just get wet again in ten seconds?” Ed said. “I can just do this instead!” He clapped his hands together and pressed them to the ground, and a stone dome encased the group, large enough to fit them all comfortably if they were sitting or lying down. The ground beneath them had hardened and dried, raised slightly off the ground.

“Ed,” Darius warned. “This isn’t exactly subtle.”

“It’s fine,” Ed said dismissively. “Nobody would come here. There isn’t even a farm around for miles. And I’ll take it down before we leave.”

Ling assumed that Darius was too grateful to be out of the rain to complain because he didn’t protest further. Instead, after Ed dried their clothes, they settled into their sleeping bags and soon fell asleep.

When Greed and Ling woke up again late the next morning, it was still raining outside, a miserable drizzly gray. Greed made Ling take over when they eventually had to leave to go find some food. By this point, the novelty of being able to control his own body had worn off enough that he found himself genuinely relieved when his time was up and Greed had to be the one to suffer the worst of the cold and wet.

Greed and Ed, each carrying one fish, made their way back to camp as the sun dipped below the horizon. They were stopped part way back by Darius.

“There are some Amestrian soldiers parked up ahead,” Darius hissed.

“What?” Ed demanded in a whisper. “What are they doing here?”

“No clue,” Darius said. “But if we try to make it back to our camp, they’ll see us. They haven’t spotted your dome yet because they’re on the other side of some trees, but...”

“If they look around, they’ll see it and know we’ve been here,” Ed said, groaning softly. “We’re too close to Resembool, they’re going to be in danger...”

Greed snorted. “They aren’t going to figure out it’s us just from a transmuted cave and a couple sleeping bags.”

Ed scowled. “I’m not risking it when it comes to my family. And either way, do you want to let them take all that stuff?!”

“No way!”

 _What does Ed plan to do about it then?_ Ling wondered.

“What are you going to do about it?” Greed repeated.

Ed smirked, a glint of mischief in his eyes that immediately had Ling worried. “We could scare them off.”

“And that’s going to be less suspicious?” Darius asked, one eyebrow raised.

“In an entirely different way, if we do it right,” Ed said. “Plus if we scare them enough, there’s a good chance they’ll try to keep the word from spreading as much as possible out of embarrassment.”

Darius sighed. “This is a terrible idea, but okay. What’s your plan?”

“We wait for Heinkel to come back, and you and him turn into your animal forms. Greed puts up his full Shield, I charge in with alchemy, and bam. Anybody would be terrified by that.”

 _Full Shield?_ Ling asked, as some weird emotion twisted in Greed’s stomach.

“Nah, I’ll sit this one out,” Greed said, his heart beating erratically in his chest.

“What do you mean you’ll ‘sit this one out’?” Ed snapped, his eyes narrowing. “The military already knows about alchemy and chimeras, these guys might not be all that freaked out if it’s just us! But you’re something way less common!”

“Yeah...” Greed muttered, the churning in his stomach growing more turbulent. “I’m just around to make this group really unique.”

“What?” Ed asked.

 _Are you okay?_ Ling wondered if this was another of Greed’s flashbacks. This didn’t feel like any of the ones Greed had before, but the way Greed reacted to them wasn’t always consistent.

“Piss off!” Greed snapped.

Ed rolled his eyes. “Fine! There isn’t time to argue. We’ll manage without you! Come on, Darius, let’s go find Heinkel.”

Giving both Greed and Ed incredibly unimpressed looks, Darius went off to follow Ed.

 _What’s your problem?_ Ling asked.

 _None of your business._ The reply was short and sharp.

 _If you’re going to be like that..._ Ling grumbled. _Look, if you don’t want to do it, just let me. What did Ed mean by “full Shield” anyway?_

 _Hell no, you already used up your forty five minutes,_ Greed said. 

Part of Ling wanted to protest, but arguing with Greed when he was so moody would not go anywhere, and Ling had more important matters to spend his energy on. _Okay, but your ‘full Shield’? Are you telling me that you can cover up your whole body with the Shield and you haven’t done that in the past?!_

 _Course I can,_ Greed said flippantly. _Why wouldn’t I be able to?_

 _I just assumed you had a reason you used your Shield as little as possible!_ Ling felt a little sick. Other than their fight with Wrath, they hadn’t been in any situation that had been too risky yet, but just knowing that Greed would put themselves and others in extra danger made him angry. There were also all those times that Greed used up his philosopher’s stone when he got injured and had to heal himself. Ling knew they weren’t close to running out of souls yet, but since that stone was his claim to the throne, he didn’t want to risk losing it or even weakening it too much.

 _Who says I don’t have a reason?_ Greed demanded.

 _Then what is it?!_ Ling knew that Greed would not be stalling this long if he had a valid explanation.

Greed snorted dismissively, and Ling loudly groaned in frustration. After spending almost five months in the front row seats to every single one of Greed’s emotional breakdowns, five months of trying his best to sort out Greed’s issues just for some peace and quiet, Ling had no patience left.

_Okay, do whatever you want! If the others fail and get caught, it’s your fault!_

Greed’s stomach jolted at that, and Ling might have felt sympathy but he was just so tired. He knew that he wasn’t being fair, but humans weren’t meant to spend so much time with one other person, and Ling was starting to reach his limit with Greed.

There was a cruel and calculating part of him that knew that if he wanted to, he could find the exact words to tear Greed into malleable shreds. He could dig up Greed’s insecurities over being liked by the rest of the team, or remind him what happened the last time Greed hadn’t been able to save his friends. He knew exactly which strings to pull to make Greed _want_ to hand the power over to Ling and let him do things his way.

Of course that would be a horrible thing to do to someone who trusted him, who he actually liked and wanted to remain on good terms with, and Ling knew he would never shatter Greed like that _._ Still, he had to wonder if it would be worth it to save their friends.

 _They won’t,_ Greed said after a bit. It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself of the fact than Ling. _They’re way too good to get caught by some soldiers._

 _All the soldiers need to do is get a good glimpse of one of them and figure out who they are, and then the Rockbells are screwed,_ Ling said, fighting to keep his tone as calm and unprovoking as he could. He wanted to try to convince Greed through normal means that didn’t prey unnecessarily on his emotions. _But the army doesn’t know that we’re working with them._

 _It’s dark_ , Greed said unconvincingly. _They won’t be seen._

Over the past few months, the mental walls between them had grown thinner. Ling checked to see if he could tell what Greed was feeling now, for some hint as to how to best proceed. There was nothing but a deep reluctance, loud in a way that made Ling sure that Greed was purposefully showing it to him as a way of telling him to piss off. 

_Are you willing to bet on that?_ Ling asked, unable to keep back all of that urge to manipulate.

There was a long moment of silence. _Fine!_ Greed said. _I’ll go in for a closer look! But that’s it. I’m not showing myself unless they’re actually in danger._

 _Great!_ Ling said, overly cheery to cover up his growing frustration. This would have to do for now. It was better than nothing. _But you should still cover yourself with the Shield. That way if someone catches a glimpse of us, they’ll be a little more intimidated than they would be of a teenage boy._

There was a twinge of something Ling couldn’t identify, gone as soon as it came, and Ling didn’t have time to try to decipher that. _Can’t you just use your weird sense so I can just pull up the Shield when it’s necessary?_

 _I can tell when people are close by, not when they’re looking at us,_ Ling said.

 _Fine,_ Greed grumbled. Starting with the tips of his fingers, the familiar gray material of his Ultimate Shield began to move down his arms, covering the rest of his body in an instant. He took off their jacket and tossed it to the ground, revealing metallic arms.

This was good, much better than how Greed had gone into any other fight they had ever been in. If Ling wanted them to be fully protected more often so they could fight better, he would have to encourage this. It probably wouldn’t be effective to point out how much more useful this was, since Greed didn’t like being wanted purely for the sake of practicality.

 _Wow!_ Ling said instead. _I can’t see how this looks, but I bet we look so badass and cool!_

 _You think so?_ Greed asked, and it wasn’t the normal arrogance he spoke with. He sounded rather doubtful and uncertain.

There had to be some reason why Greed didn’t want to be fully Shielded, he thought. Greed didn’t just do things to be difficult, even if sometimes his reasoning made barely any sense to anybody else. Ling had been frustrated enough that he hadn’t really cared to offer him sympathy, but Greed’s tone of voice right then, like he couldn’t really believe Ling’s over-the-top compliment, made him hesitate.

Greed was embarrassed, he realized, and he wasn’t sure why, but it was strong enough that he would rather get injured and use up some of his stone than let others see him like that. Now that Ling had this information, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it.

While Ling had been contemplating Greed’s reaction, Greed had moved them closer to where the soldiers were, ducking behind trees to keep hidden until they were right next to the place of action. Ling couldn’t see any of the others, which was probably a good sign since that meant that the soldiers probably couldn’t either. It had only been a few minutes since Ed and Darius had gone off, so maybe they hadn’t started yet.

Then, in the distance, Ling heard the sound of growling, not quite human, not quite lion, but something monstrously in between. Something darted from the bushes from the opposite direction as the sound, too fast to make out properly, though given the rough size and shape, Ling was pretty certain it was Darius.

“Who—who’s there?” one of the soldiers cried out.

On the side the growl had come from, something else rustled in the bushes. The silhouette of one of the soldiers started in that direction, but before anything could happen, a howl came from Darius’s side, entirely different from Heinkel’s, but just as inhuman.

“Show yourself!” the soldier demanded, a tremble audible in his voice even from where Ling was crouched at a distance. 

Beneath the soldiers, the ground started to move, a slight raise in the ground that was scarcely noticeable in the dimly lit camp. The large lump began to move, and Ling could tell the exact moment that the soldiers noticed it because part of it moved under one of their feet, and he shrieked, jumping high up into the air.

 _That has to be Ed, right?_ Ling said. _How is he doing that?_

Greed glanced around, but there was no sign of Ed or any alchemical blue sparks. That was a good thing, since alchemy was recognizable, while whatever Ed was doing now was far stranger and less easily explained. Even the chimeras were being fairly subtle, Ling noted. Although the existence of chimeras wasn’t common knowledge, these soldiers could very well be in the know. Besides, they seemed more creepy when they were half hidden. All in all, Ling thought it was a pretty good set up. No one would assume chimeras and alchemy were the cause of this display and come to the conclusion that the people doing this were Darius and Heinkel and Edward Elric

Darius howled again, somewhere farther away from Greed and Ling than last time.

“Go after that!” one of the soldiers hissed, pointing at some of his presumed subordinates. A couple of shaky looking soldiers grabbed their guns, stalking into the darkness. Judging by the rustle of leaves and the shadow that darted far away, Darius had a significant head start and would get away safely.

“There’s another one right there!” someone shouted, pointing in the direction where Ling thought Heinkel probably was at. “Don’t let it get away!”

At this, a few more people rushed in that direction, faster, and a few bullets fired off.

Heinkel roared, loud enough to shake Ling’s bones, and then the earth began to move in waves, tripping up everyone who was coming near him.

The trees, however, were carefully rooted in place, not even quivering. Ling was not the only one to notice this because one of the soldiers stuck their gun in their belt and scrambled onto one tree, jumping from its branches to the next one.

 _If we can’t see Ed, he probably can’t see us either,_ Ling said urgently. _Which means that there’s only so much he can do to protect Heinkel. The soldiers will catch up to him soon, and if he tries to make a run for it, there’s nothing but empty field. They’ll be able to shoot and kill him, no problem._ He had to cover all of his bases; there was no time to give Greed space to argue.

 **_Fuck!_ ** Greed growled inside their mind as he jumped up and darted into sight of the soldiers.

One of the ones who was facing their direction screamed, his eyes wide open with horror. Instantly, everyone turned to look, which Ling personally thought was bad training since it allowed distractions to work. It did take the attention off from Heinkel though, so Ling wasn’t complaining. In the yellow light of the lanterns, Greed’s skin glinted, his mouth wide open in a snarl, showing off his elongated teeth.

“Monster!” someone cried, and with that whatever barrier that Greed had put up between him and Ling tumbled down, a wave of shame and something almost like fear sweeping Ling away before abruptly cutting off.

‘Oh,’ he thought to himself. He didn’t know why he was so surprised by these sorts of revelations anymore. He knew Greed was uncomfortable with people seeing him fully Shielded, but it wasn’t until he saw Greed’s reaction to someone calling him a monster that he could start to put the pieces together. There was probably a lot of baggage there, but there was no time to analyze that.

“Leave,” Greed growled. “You aren’t welcome here.”

For a long moment, nobody moved, the soldiers frozen in place with their guns all pointed at Greed. Then a shot ran out, a dozen more following suit. Not all of them hit Greed, but the ones that did pinged off as Greed began to advance forward.

“I said leave!” Greed shouted, and the mental wall was thick enough that Ling couldn’t feel his emotions at the moment, but he could hear the anger and hurt in his voice. Greed leaped forward, scratching his claws down the side of a nearby tree, leaving deep gashes.

One of the soldiers yelped, lowering his gun to run for an armored car. Within moments, over half the others followed suit, and the ones that remained were shaky-legged and quivering. Greed reached out for one of their rifles, yanking it out of the soldier’s grasp and snapping it in half, all while maintaining direct eye contact. The soldier swallowed, and the moment that Greed dropped the broken gun, the rest of the soldiers were fleeing.

If the ground wasn’t so wet and muddy, Ling was sure that the dozen or so cars would be leaving a trail of dust behind them. 

_You were so badass!_ Ling said, though he wasn’t necessarily sure it was the right reaction. He was excited that they had succeeded in driving them away without anyone in their team being caught, but there was something soft and scared creeping from Greed’s side of their mind, and he wasn’t sure if his brightness was the best way to deal with that.

 _Sure,_ Greed said glumly.

“That was impressive, boss,” Heinkel said. Greed was looking at the ground and couldn’t see Heinkel, but judging by the sound of footsteps, he was approaching them. “Thanks for saving my ass.”

“Yeah, that was quite a show,” Darius said, his voice coming from their left. He stomped on the ground twice. “Hey, Ed! You can come out now.”

Below them, the ground crackled with blue alchemical sparks, before splitting open to reveal a dirt-covered Ed.

“Shame I missed out on it,” Ed muttered. He looked Greed up and down. “Hey, you look pretty similar to the time I fought you in Dublith. What happened to your ponytail? Are you actually buffer than Ling or does it just look like that because you aren’t wearing your jacket?”

Greed didn’t respond. _That’s it?_ he asked disbelievingly, though Ling got the feeling he was asking himself more than he was asking Ling.

 _What did you expect?_ Ling said.

“And why are your teeth like that?” Ed asked, stepping closer to peer at Greed’s face. “I didn’t get a chance to look closely before, but it doesn’t even make sense for them to change if this is all a shield. Is it like for intimidation or something?”

Greed shoved Ed away. “Shouldn’t you be more weirded out by this?” he demanded. Ling had to admit he was a bit impressed at how Greed sounded more annoyed than deeply insecure. If Ling didn’t know better and wasn’t paying attention, he might not have guessed how much the question meant to him.

Ed raised an eyebrow. “You’re asking _me?_ You know my life. Some oddly shaped teeth are barely worth noticing.”

“I mean.” Greed swallowed and gestured at the rest of his body. “I’m not human.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Ed said, giving him an unimpressed look.

“Cut him some slack,” Darius said, his voice softer than Ling had expected. “I was pretty ashamed of my chimera form for a while too. I thought that I was a monster now that I look like one, and it wasn’t until Heinkel pulled me out of my head that I realized I wasn’t. You might not be human, but you’re still one of us. Seeing you like this won’t change our minds.”

Greed stared at him.

Heinkel cleared his throat. “I second that, but we really should get going before they decide to come back with reinforcements.”

“Right,” Ed said. “I still need to take down that dome.” He and Heinkel headed off to the direction their campsite had been, but Greed made no move to follow them, and Darius lingered behind.

“You good?” Darius asked Greed, looking at him carefully.

“Yeah,” Greed said, though it sounded a bit choked. He took down his Ultimate Shield, and Ling felt a strange mixture of relief and embarrassment coming from Greed.

“Good.” Darius clapped Greed on the shoulder then went off after Ed and Heinkel.

 _You know that we all actually like you as a person, right?_ Ling asked, biting back the sarcasm that could have accompanied his tone. This was a sensitive subject, and he had enough tact to keep his voice gentle. _Reminding us that you’re physically more like the people we’re up against than a regular human isn’t going to make them reconsider anything._

 _Yeah,_ Greed said quietly, a mental equivalent of whispering. _I think I got that._ He sounded so full of wonder that Ling couldn’t even be annoyed at the slow uptake. Then he shook his head. _Ha, a bunch of freaks like them, they really don’t have any room to judge._

Which wasn’t exactly the progress Ling would have wanted, but he supposed it was good enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to midnight-mismanagement for the idea of soup triggering flashbacks to Greed’s death!  
> And thanks to Magpie for the scenes where Ed shows Greed how to transmute his claws, Ed brings Greed a gift from a shopping trip, and Greed has to use his Ultimate Shield form to scare some people away


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some Edling-adjacent stuff in the second scene, as well as references to underage sex in the past and a bit of internalized aphobia. Also, this chapter is going to be an angsty one, be warned  
> The later scenes have some dialogue that comes mostly from the Netflix subbed version with occasional minor changes and a bit from the dub

The five of them had left the Rockbells’ house only a few hours ago, and Ling could tell that Ed was already moping. That wasn’t particularly surprising. After going so long without seeing any of his family, leaving them again had to be even more painful than not seeing them in the first place. Not that Ling thought Ed regretted being able to see Winry and Pinako in any way, but still. It had to hurt.

Even Ling, who had only met Winry a couple times before this and had never met Pinako, felt that everything was different now.

His entire view of the whole impending apocalypse thing had shifted now that the consequences felt far more real. The last few months had been a hazy dream of cold nights and forests and fields on endless repeat, until time and the outside world had begun to lose all meaning. Ling had been aware that there was theoretically a country full of people who would die if they failed, but with so little contact with any of them, internalizing that knowledge had been hard.

Interacting with other humans, particularly ones so close to someone he knew, had been a burst of clarity, a sharp reminder of everything they were fighting for. And if it was jolting to Ling, it had to be so much worse for Ed.

Ling had been watching Ed stew in his own thoughts for a long time already and he didn’t think it would be good to let it go on much longer. They had been walking northwest in the general direction of Kanama for most of the night now, and the sky was starting to lighten. If he wanted to say something before they stopped for camp, now would be the time.

 _Hey, Greed, it’s past midnight,_ Ling said. _I want my forty five minutes now._

 _Yeah, okay,_ Greed said, though an air of confusion permeated their mindspace as Greed handed over the reins. Ling didn’t normally ask to be in charge when nothing was going on. Most days, Greed would pick a random time like during a meal or Ling would make a request when something interesting was happening. _Why now?_

 _Someone’s gotta talk to Ed,_ Ling said as he began to slow down to catch up to him

Greed snorted, though it sounded more curious than dismissive. Ling wondered when he had started to be able to distinguish the intentions behind Greed’s snorts. _And so_ **_you’re_ ** _going to do that?_

 _I mean, I’ve managed to deal with_ **_you_ ** _, so I think that makes me qualified for anything,_ Ling said, sending Greed a mental smirk.

 _Sure, sure,_ Greed muttered.

“Hey, Ed?” Ling asked once he was in step with him. “Are you okay?”

Ed just gave him a look, which Ling supposed was fair.

Trying to comfort Ed had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that Ling was standing next to him, he had no idea what to say or do. It was a lot easier when the other person lived inside his head. With Greed, there had always been far more cues he would work off of, and saying emotionally charged things felt less vulnerable in the privacy of their head.

Still, Ling had to say something. “We’re going to make it out of this alive,” he said. “You’ll get the chance to see them again.”

“Okay,” Ed said, a little shortly like he didn’t entirely believe Ling. He didn’t push him away though, which had to count for something. “Why are you bothering me?”

Ling bit back all urges to make some kind of sarcastic or deflective comment. “If I saw Lan Fan and Fu, I’d be a bit of a mess too,” he said instead.

Ed turned to look at him. “Yeah?”

Ling nodded. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a stray thought tugged at his emotions, but he ignored it, just as he had been doing his best to for the past five months. If he started letting himself miss Lan Fan and Fu now, he didn’t know how he would stop.

“I’m not— It’s not like I’m devastated at leaving them or anything,” Ed said defensively. “I’ve been away from them for longer.”

“Yeah, but it’s kind of different when the world could end soon, isn’t it?” Ling said.

“Yeah, well...” Ed said. He sighed. “Either they’ll be fine, or none of us will, so there isn’t really much point in worrying.”

 _Why is it so hard to get him to talk about emotions?_ Ling complained.

 _Like you’d be any better in this situation,_ Greed said with a snort, which was true but not exactly helpful.

There had to be something he could say that would make Ed feel better, but if there was, Ling couldn’t find it. They walked in silence for a long moment as he scrambled to think of something to say. Maybe Ed’s melancholy would pass on its own, and Ling poking at it would only make it worse.

“If you need to talk to someone...” Ling said a little helplessly.

“Yeah,” Ed said, not as snappish as Ling expected. “I... Maybe some other time.”

Ling nodded, deciding to take that as a victory. Congratulations to him, he had survived an emotional conversation with someone outside of his head and possibly even helped a bit. He let himself walk even slower to fall out of step with Ed.

 _So, you’re missing your people?_ Greed asked, casual in a way that seemed deliberate. Ling had been hoping Greed wouldn’t pick up on that.

 _A bit,_ Ling said. His heart clenched a little, but he was _not thinking about it_ , so he yanked his thoughts away.

 _Not thinking about it, hmm?_ Greed’s tone was mocking, but the emotions Ling could feel behind it were not.

Ling cursed the thin wall between their minds that made it easy for Greed to eavesdrop on his louder thoughts. _I mean it won’t do me any good to dwell. But of course I miss them. I’ve never been separated from them for this long in my life, even as a baby, and it feels so damn_ **_weird_ ** _to not see them._

There was a hole in his soul, gaping wide, tearing at his chest now that he had given it notice. Ling had never really longed for something the way he now longed to be in their presence again. _You know what’s funny? I spent half the time when I was with them trying to get away from them to find “independence”, but now I even miss all their nagging and worrying. I just want to see them again, more than I ever wanted to get away, and I hate it! I think I’d actually be happy to hear them yell at me for being dumb enough to get myself possessed by a homunculus—who somehow got me onto this topic even though I said I wouldn’t!_

So much for not thinking about them. There were several months worth of feelings he had been doing his best to ignore rising up to the forefront. It didn’t feel like a tidal wave crashing over him and dragging him out to sea, not like how Greed’s memories returning had been, but it still seemed to envelop and drown him. This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to think about them. He didn’t want to feel hot tears pressing against his eyelids every time he blinked, that heaviness in his heart that made him want to either lie down on the ground for a century or run all the way to wherever Lan Fan and Fu were. 

It was impossible to bury a feeling forever, but Ling had been hoping to keep it in for at least another few weeks until the Promised Day had passed and he could spare the energy to worry about such things. 

_You’ll see them again,_ Greed said with his usual confidence.

 _I know,_ Ling said, though somehow this only made the bitter choking in his chest even stronger. _Fuck, they must be so worried._ **_I’m_ ** _worried to death about them, and that’s not even my job. They’re never going to let me out of their sight again after this._ He sighed. _And for the first few months at least, I’m going to have to put up with that, aren’t I._

 _They only have emotional blackmail on_ **_you,_ ** Greed said with a smirk. _I can just run off with your body, and you can tag along for the ride._

Ling appreciated Greed’s obvious attempt to help, but this was not exactly as comforting as Greed probably thought it was. It didn’t matter who was at fault; he just didn’t want to put Lan Fan and Fu through this kind of worry again. He hadn’t been able to really understand how much emotional distress he caused when he ran off until he was in their position, with no idea where they were or if they were even still alive. They were strong and clever and good at getting out of rough situations, so they _probably_ were fine, but he didn’t _know_.

 _That won’t really help you get on their good side, you know,_ Ling said.

Greed paused. _Eh, well I didn’t say I_ **_would_ ** _do that, just that I_ **_could_ ** _._

 _Uh huh,_ Ling said, too full of feelings he didn’t want to touch to really press the issue. _Look, thanks for trying to help, but can I just spend the rest of my forty five minutes alone?_

Greed said nothing more, withdrawing somewhat. Ling could still feel him in their mind, brushing up against him like a hand on his shoulder, a comforting and unobtrusive presence.

With nothing left except the quiet of his own mind, Ling continued to walk through the dark fields, trying to regain some grip over his thoughts.

* * *

Ling grabbed another stick from the ground and added it to the pile in his arms, holding back a sigh. Ed had been talking for at least a minute straight, and Ling was starting to tune him out. He had only meant to start a conversation to pass some time by asking where Lan Fan might be able to get an automail arm from. He hadn’t expected a full on rant on why Winry was the best mechanic in the world, but such was life.

“...Plus Winry is so well loved that her customers ask for her _specifically_ , even though she technically works under Garfiel,” Ed continued. “She really is incredible, like there’s this one thing she did with my leg...”

Winry was objectively pretty neat, and Ed had never hidden how much he admired her, but seeing her again must have made him extra eager to talk about her because Ed hadn’t acted like this before.

 _I don’t think I’ve ever seen the kid say such nice things about anyone before,_ Greed commented, amused.

 _Well, he says nice things about Al too,_ Ling said. _Though not quite like this._ There was something different about the way Ed talked about Winry, and the instant Ling thought that, the pieces clicked.

“Wait,” he said, stopping Ed in his tracks. “Do you have a crush on Winry?”

Ed froze, his mouth still open, and he turned a dark red as he sputtered for a moment. “What—What are you talking about?!”

Ling felt a large grin stretch across his face. “Aww... you do!”

“Shut up,” Ed hissed, his face somehow growing darker, and Ling fought the urge to tease Ed on his blush. Ed looked down. “...Maybe.”

“Ha!” Ling said, trying not to smirk too obviously.

“Do _you_ have a crush?” Ed asked quickly, a unsubtle deflection of the topic. “Any Xingese girls back home? Like Lan Fan?”

A twist of wrongness curled up in Ling’s stomach, and his smile dropped. “No, definitely not Lan Fan. We grew up together, so honestly, she’s more like a sister or cousin or something. And plus she’s my retainer, so that... would not be good.”

“Oh, right,” Ed said. He made a face. “Once I turned 14 I had to go to a sexual harassment in the workplace seminar. It was a military one. For adult men. I think a part of me died there.”

Ling stifled a giggle. “It can’t be as bad as the talk Fu gave me and Lan Fan. About how not to get assassinated during sex.”

Ed stopped, his hand frozen over the branch he had been about to pick up, and stared at Ling. “How did you somehow manage to have it worse?!”

 _How_ **_do_ ** _you avoid—_ Greed started.

 _Nope, I am not thinking about this._ Ling shrugged. “Perks of being royalty, I suppose.”

“I’ve never felt so lucky to be a lowly commoner,” Ed said. “Anyway, _do_ you have any crushes?”

“Not really?” Ling said. “At least not that I can think of. What about you, anyone other than Winry ever?”

Ed shook his head. “Nothing major, too busy being part of the military and all. I haven’t really gotten to just hang out with people.”

“Wait,” Ling said, his smile growing wider. “Does that mean you’ve never kissed anyone before?”

Ed glared at Ling. “No. I assume you haven’t either.”

“Not all of us are so sheltered, Ed,” Ling said, making a very poor attempt to stop grinning.

Ed scoffed. “Come on, there’s no way you have more experience than me.”

“I’ll have you know I’m quite popular,” Ling informed him in an exaggerated tone of offense. “But I actually do. I, uh, even had sex once?”

 _Oh yeah, you mentioned sneaking out to do that, didn’t you,_ Greed said. 

Ling vaguely remembered it coming up one of the nights he had talked to Greed about his past to stave away the boredom. _Yeah, I guess so._

“Aren’t you kind of young?” Ed demanded. Then he frowned. “Wait, like Greed did, or...?”

“No, me, right before I came to Amestris,” Ling said, shrugging, feeling a little uncomfortable at the look Ed was giving him. Logically, he knew that having sex for the first time was a big deal to a lot of people, and it sort of had been to him, but mostly it had been kind of anticlimactic. “Fifteen isn’t that young, I don’t think? And I mean, there was a decent chance that I was going to die on my quest. Or if not then, then once I returned to Xing, if there was a lot of political turmoil. So I guess I wanted to see what all the fuss was about?”

“And?”

“And...” Ling made a face, trying to climb over a fallen log without dropping the branches in his arms. “It was kind of... eh.”

“‘Eh’?” Ed asked.

“I don’t know,” Ling said. He gave up and sat down on top of the log. If he was going to be having this awkward conversation, he might as well take a break from firewood collecting. “It was just sort of. Messy. And gross. It’s much better with only one body.”

“Huh,” Ed said, setting down his pile of wood near Ling’s feet. “Maybe you’re not attracted to—whatever the gender of the person you did it with?”

“Maybe,” Ling said. He had wondered the same thing. The girl he had done it with had objectively been pretty and funny, but he hadn’t felt any sort of attraction to her specifically, none of that pull or drive that others talked about. It wasn’t like he felt particularly compelled to do anything with boys either, but who knew. “I mean, I’ve never tried anything with a guy.”

“Yeah, same,” Ed said thoughtfully. “I always thought I might like it? But I don’t know. I... never had the opportunity to try.”

Ling raised his eyebrow. “Are you offering?”

Ed met his gaze, something almost challenging in his eyes. “Are _you?”_

Was it a bad idea to try kissing his friend, who he had spent months hiding out in the wilderness with? Maybe, but the world could end in a couple weeks, and Ling thought he would rather give into his curiosity while he still had the chance. It had been a similar impulse that lead him to having sex the first time, and while it hadn’t been as enjoyable as advertised and he probably wouldn’t do it again, Ling hadn’t regretted it either. Plus despite the break in monotony that visiting the Rockbells had been, Ling was extremely bored, and at least this would be a change of pace.

“Sure, why not,” Ling said, dropping his own armful of firewood next to Ed’s pile and sliding off the log into a standing position. “Though, fair warning, Greed is still around in the background, in case that bothers you.”

Ed rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I figured. As long as you two don’t switch in the middle, it’s fine. I don’t want to kiss Greed.”

 _Fair enough,_ Greed said, though Ling thought he caught a glimpse of that feeling that he had determined to be jealousy.

Ling suddenly realized he had not actually covered all his bases. _It’s okay with you too, right?_ Greed would, after all, be somewhat forced to watch.

 _Yeah, go ahead._ His voice was casual, but there was a smug warmth bleeding out from Greed’s side, and Ling could tell he was pleased at having been asked.

“Deal,” Ling said.

Ed took a hesitant step forward, until they were standing almost nose to nose, and paused.

 _This is so awkward,_ Ling complained, and Greed chuckled.

_Just make your move, kid._

He carefully reached out for Ed’s face, and when Ed didn’t move back or anything, he brought their lips together. 

It wasn’t quite like the other time Ling had kissed someone. He had a whole different set of reasons to feel awkward about it for one thing, since Ed was his friend and they would have to continue interacting with each other no matter how well or badly this went. Their movements were both clumsy and weird, and it seemed so painfully obvious that neither of them really knew what they were doing, unlike the girl Ling had met who had been quite happy to let him follow her more experienced lead.

In some ways though, it was a bit better. Ed reached out to hold onto Ling’s shoulders, pulling them together so they were close enough for their chests to brush, and just the familiarity of Ed made the physical contact far more pleasant and reassuring. Ling brought his hands up into Ed’s soft hair, weaving his fingers in between the strands of his braid. If he was being entirely honest with himself, the part of him that got a kick out of annoying Ed had been tempted to mess up his usually neat braid for a while.

The kissing itself was almost nice, in a way that made Ling think that if they had a better idea of what they were doing, it would be reasonably enjoyable. There were no sparks, none of that pleasure that other people always talked about, but it was alright, he supposed.

 _Hey, Greed?_ he asked because part of him was still not sure if he was really just that bad at kissing, or if there actually was something different about him. _You’ve kissed people and liked it, right? Just to be sure, this is not how it feels like?_

 _Yeah, no_ , Greed said with a snort. _The fact that you’re zoning out to chat with me isn’t a good sign._

 _I figured,_ Ling said with a mental sigh. Maybe there was something wrong with the way his brain was set up, that he didn’t think there was a single person in the world he was genuinely attracted to.

 _Some people are just like that,_ Greed said, and Ling realized that perhaps he had thought that a bit too loudly. _I’ve been around, and there’s plenty of people who aren’t into this kind of thing._

Somehow that made Ling feel better, to know that even if something was messed up in his brain, at least he wasn’t the only one.

Ling had always been good at wanting what he was supposed to want, all the responsibilities of royalty and expectations of a teenage boy slotting neatly into his life. He wanted to be emperor, he wanted to protect and support his clan, to honor his ancestors by living up to all that he could be; and he wanted to be strong and liked, to be reckless, to eat and sleep and have fun. But he didn’t want this, not like he was supposed to. Ling wasn’t sure whether he was disappointed or not.

_Anyway, if you want to have more fun, you should put your tongue in his mouth._

Ling managed to stop himself from choking, and if Ed noticed the slight twitch, he gave no sign. _Yeah, I’m sure that’ll go well._

 _I’m serious!_ Greed protested. _Trust me, that’s how you kiss! I have lots of experience._

 _And how much of it do you actually remember?_ Ling shot back. 

There was a beat of silence. _Okay, so maybe I don’t have super clear memories, but trust me on this._

Ling snorted mentally. _Yeah, no way._ Admittedly, he did remember the girl he had kissed had done that, but he had found it a little gross. If Greed said that was a thing that people did, he would trust him, but that didn’t mean he wanted to do it.

After another moment, he pulled away. “So?”

Ed’s cheeks were flushed, and judging by the way his eyes flickered to Ling’s lips, he probably would have preferred to continue. Ling’s heart sank. Whatever Ed felt was clearly far more in line with what Ling should have. “I can confirm that I’m definitely into guys,” Ed said a little breathlessly. Then he frowned slightly, a clear crease between his eyebrows, as his eyes focused onto Ling. “But... you aren’t.”

“It was nice,” Ling tried. “I liked it, but... I guess I didn’t _like_ it, like you did.”

“Uh. Sorry,” Ed said awkwardly, looking at the ground. Suddenly Ling wished he had never brought up the topic of kissing boys. If he had to deal with this sort of discomfort from one of the only four people he could talk to for the next two and a half weeks, he was sure he would go crazy.

“Don’t be sorry,” Ling said. “I wanted to try, and I would have stopped sooner if I hated it. I’m glad we both know something more about ourselves. Please don’t let this get weird, I don’t want to be stuck talking to only Greed until the Promised Day.”

“Yeah, okay,” Ed said as he took a step back, his voice a little more subdued than normal. Then he shook his head. “Right! We should get back to camp before Heinkel and Darius start yelling at us.”

Ling snickered, though it felt a little hollow. The lingering discomfort hadn’t quite left the atmosphere, and it would be unreasonable to expect it to vanish so soon, but part of him feared that maybe it would never completely go away. “Not looking like that, you aren’t. Your hair’s all messed up.”

“Who’s fault is that?” Ed snapped, and this felt a little more genuine, a little closer to normal. His hands went up to pat down his hair.

“It’s so soft though,” Ling said, even as his brain was wondering why he was hovering so close to the topic, why he wasn’t trying to think of anything and everything to talk about that wasn’t related to what they had just done.

Ed snorted, untying his hair and running his hand through his braid to loosen it.

 _Huh,_ Greed said, and Ling got the impression that he was peering at him. _You really aren’t attracted to him._

 _What? Stop reading my emotions,_ Ling said, though he didn’t do anything to thicken the wall between them. _I thought you already picked up on that anyway, given the past few minutes._

_I’m just saying, with hair like that, lots of people would be swooning._

_Yeah,_ Ling said a little shortly. He wondered what Greed, who wanted everything, who had always been impressed by the extent of Ling’s desires in the past, thought of him now for not truly wanting anything of that sort. Feeling a little embarrassed for reasons he couldn’t quite understand, Ling gave into the urge to hide and ducked more firmly behind their mental wall.

 _Wait, are you being shy?_ Greed asked, sounding absolutely thrilled. _Are you worried I’ll judge you? You know I don’t judge people on what they don’t want anymore than what they do want._

Of course this was the moment that Greed decided to actually be insightful about emotions, Ling grumbled to himself. _What are you talking about? You do judge people on their desires! You said yourself that you were impressed with me wanting to rule Xing._

Greed snorted. _You got it all wrong. I’m more impressed with why people want things and what they do to get it than the actual stuff they want. Wanting to rule a country isn’t impressive. Accepting a homunculus into your body for the chance at protecting your people_ **_is_ ** _._

Ed finally finished tying his braid and looked up. “Why are you staring at me?” he demanded.

“No reason,” Ling said, and shook his head. He wasn’t quite sure how to accept Greed’s compliment. “Just talking to Greed. Come on, let’s head back.”

“Right,” Ed said, turning a little pinker. He picked up his stack of firewood, then glanced back at Ling. “We really are okay, right?”

“As long as you are,” Ling said. “What pair of friends haven’t had some awkward moments between them? I can just add it to the historical records, once I become Emperor. ‘Edward Elric, the person who fed Emperor Ling Yao his boot and then made him realize he wasn’t into kissing people.’”

“Yeah, uhuh,” Edward said, unimpressed. It was the kind of tone he frequently took with Ling, so Ling figured the worst of the awkwardness was behind them.

“You say that like you don’t think I’ll actually record that,” Ling said, pouting a little.

“If you do, I’ll just tell everyone about Ling Yao, the Emperor who was found collapsed on the side of the road by a homeless fifteen year old, and then proceeded to mooch off said fifteen year old for all his meals.”

“You lived in hotels, that’s not homeless!” Ling protested, jostling Ed with his elbow.

“Either way, that doesn’t sound very impressive for His Most Royal Highness, does it?” Ed smirked at him as he stepped out of Ling’s range of attack.

“That’s not even a correct translation of the Emperor’s titles,” Ling muttered, but he couldn’t quite hide the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

* * *

Greed shifted uncomfortably on top of his sleeping roll, the late hour and cool night doing nothing to stifle the restlessness he appeared to be feeling.

 _Not really taking your own advice, are you_ , Ling said, not particularly surprised.

 _What, about getting good rest?_ Greed asked.

 _Yeah,_ Ling said. The next day, they would arrive in Kanama where they would try to meet up with Al and Hohenheim. The day after that was the Promised Day. This would likely be the last moment of true peace they would have, which meant that getting some good sleep was important. Of course, that was far easier said than done. Ling could hear rustling coming from elsewhere in the camp, and he knew that Greed was not the only one having difficulty sleeping.

 _I’d like to see you do any better,_ Greed said, a certain sharpness in his tone.

 _Nah, I wouldn’t be able to sleep either,_ Ling said. _But since we’re both awake, well, it seemed less boring if I talked to you._

 _Yeah._ Greed didn’t say anything after that, but he hadn’t seemed annoyed by Ling’s earlier attempt at conversation, so Ling decided to give it another go.

 _If everything goes well and we defeat your Father, what happens afterwards?_ Ling asked. Since they had joined up with Ed’s team, Ling had avoided any discussion of the future out of fear for what Greed might say. But now, they were closer to each other than they had ever been, and this might be the last time they had the opportunity to discuss it. They already knew they weren’t going to be wandering around the Amestrian countryside with Ed and the chimeras anymore, so Ling might as well offer the option of going back to claim Xing’s throne. It wasn’t like Greed seemed to have solid plans, and the Emperor would not await Ling’s return forever.

 _Huh?_ Greed said. _Oh, I don’t know. You said we could go to a drag bar._

 _Oh right,_ Ling said, wondering why he had said that. It had seemed like a better idea back then, when the future seemed far away and its weight was less heavy. At the present, with everything so close to the brink of change, he couldn’t exactly imagine asking Fu and Lan Fan to put a pause on returning to Xing’s throne in order to spend a night at a bar. _But what about after that? I was thinking, being the Emperor of Xing isn’t as good as being king of the world, but it’s a pretty big step in that direction, right? So why don’t we go to Xing, show off your immortality, and become Emperor?_

 _You’re still stuck on that, are you?_ Greed said.

Of course he was stuck on that, Ling thought with some exasperation. It was his life goal, his entire reason for being in Amestris and getting involved in the affairs of the homunculi, and he wasn’t about to forget it so easily.

 _It’s what we both want, Greed,_ Ling said. Not that he thought it was actually true, but Greed hadn’t seemed to realize that fully yet, so he was using it as an argument while he still could.

_Yeah, but would it really be me ruling Xing or you just using me to do that?_

_Greed, we’re in this together, we’re_ **_partners,_ ** Ling said a little exasperatedly. _Given that we share a body, I think it would be harder_ **_not_ ** _to share all our triumphs and struggles and whatnot. Which includes this. If I become Emperor of Xing, then I swear by all my people that you will be too._

 _Well, my plans depend on what happens during the Promised Day,_ Greed said, too evasively for Ling’s liking, though he had no idea what Greed could be hiding from him. _But sure, if it doesn’t interfere with anything else, we can go to Xing._

Ling frowned. _What plans do you have that could get in the way of returning to Xing?_

 _Well, if Father absorbs us all into his philosopher’s stone, going to Xing is hardly going to be my priority, is it,_ Greed said. Which was definitely a point, but Ling still felt like something was missing. Not that pressing Greed for answers had ever really gotten him anywhere. Greed might not lie, but if he didn’t want to say something, he wouldn’t.

 _Maybe we should look into splitting up afterwards,_ Ling said. _Once Ed and Al reunite, I bet they’d be able to figure out some way to get you your own body. That way you can go do whatever plans you have in mind without dragging me along._

 _Oh,_ Greed said, his voice oddly flat. _Right. Yeah._ _If anyone can, it’s probably them._

 _Yeah,_ Ling said, letting the conversation die. Ed and Al had created a human body once before, which made them the most qualified people Ling knew. It was also a reason they might never want to do something even similar to that again, even though the circumstances were completely different, but he figured he would at least ask. As much as he liked Greed, he did not want to be the backseat driver of his own body for the rest of his life, especially if he was to become the Emperor of Xing.

 _Well, I’m going to try to get some actual sleep now,_ Greed said after a long pause.

 _Good night,_ Ling said, settling down to the back of their mind.

* * *

The world was about to end, and Ling should have cared. The sky had opened up, and the enemy he had spent the past four and a half months on the run from had swallowed the power of God itself, and Ling should have cared.

Instead, all he felt was an aching hollowness that wasn’t grief, that wasn’t pain, that wasn’t exhaustion, but something far beyond all of those. Fu had died, and it still didn’t seem real yet, the reality not quite sunken in, even as his heart felt like it was being torn to shreds. 

Greed had handed all his power to Ling in order to destroy the Central troops, not offering even a single argument. It represented a trust and unity that was something beyond anything they had ever shared, and that should have meant something, that should have been important. But all Ling had felt was rage and piercing grief and the _need_ for none of the other people he had claimed as his own to be hurt. And now that task was done, so all Ling was left with was a deep, bone-seated weariness.

He now understood how Greed felt after regaining his memories, when he had barricaded himself into the back of their mind and let Ling take the reins. Ling had no energy left to even want to try for control. He let himself sink into the recesses of his mind to let all matters pass around him, blanketed by a soft tenderness that wrapped around him like the warmest of hugs. He would appreciate Greed’s gesture later, once he could bother to care.

Distantly, as if through a telescope, Ling watched as Greed went back down the familiar tunnels they had lived in during their first weeks together, dropping in on Father and trying to take his place in the center of the country-wide transmutation circle.

Even if Ling had the strength to care, he doubted he would have really been surprised. Greed had been dropping hints at something being up for awhile, and he had never hidden his desire for more power, as hollow as that desire felt to Ling. 

Ling didn’t even try to talk Greed out of it. He knew that Greed had kept his plan from him because he didn’t want Ling to convince him otherwise, and trying to do so now would only lead to Greed blatantly misinterpreting his words. But he also knew that even if Father didn’t stop Greed first, this was not what Greed truly wanted, so whatever plan the others had to stop this would be met with little genuine resistance from him.

So Ling sat back and let the events unfold, right up until everyone went off to fight Father.

It felt like being woken up after a hazy night spent drifting between sleep and nightmares. Ling wanted to go back to his grief, to sink into that feeling of being so utterly lost that emotions almost no longer existed, but he couldn’t. These were his friends, and the friends of his friends, about to go off to fight, and he _could not_ sit back and watch them die.

 _You have to do something, Greed,_ Ling pleaded, his fear and loss and everything else rushing around his head. He felt a little bad, knowing exactly how those secondhand emotions felt from the other end of things, but he didn’t think he could hold them back if he tried. _You have to protect them! You’re immortal, you can’t let them die._

 _You think I’d do anything else, brat?_ Greed snapped, and there was something rougher, more on edge about his tone. Ling didn’t think Greed had sounded this rude to him ever, except maybe in some of their first days together. Being around his Father again, with so much at stake had to be a lot of pressure. _These people are_ **_mine._ **

The sharp and fierce emotions sparking around his mind drew back a little, appeased by Greed’s reassurance. It was strange how Greed claiming people as his had been so unsettling when they first met, but now was a relief.

Ling watched on tender hooks as Greed walked around, demanding the injured to stay back, shouting and begging and doing everything in his power to stop the ones most likely to die from getting hurt.

Ever since their most recent fight with Wrath, the two of them had been more in sync, passing control and power with barely even a thought, their emotions feeding into each other more than ever before. Even with everything else going on, without being told, Greed had known exactly how to offer him some comfort when grief had been drowning Ling’s mind. Ling wondered how much of his own new awareness of his friends’ mortality had leaked into Greed’s insistency now.

Then the fight began, and Ling felt himself come further out of that drifting state of detachment and into the world around him, his attention focusing onto the here and now, driven by the bursting need to keep everyone safe.

Greed was perched high up on the corner of a building, watching the events unfold, and Ling would have been frustrated at his inaction, if it wasn’t for the sense of security that being able to see everything and leap in at any moment gave him.

“Awesome!” Greed said as he watched their allies launch attack after attack at Father. A huge grin split his face, and there was something dark and coiling and satisfied in his belly at watching the person who had caused him so much pain now get beaten into the ground. “With that kind of power, I could conquer the whole world!”

Was he still stuck on that? Ling wondered. He had hoped that after failing to steal Father’s powers earlier, Greed would have figured it out a bit. Ling knew Greed could latch onto certain ideas with all the blind determination of a toddler, and he knew that Greed did not understand his emotions, and yet he somehow still managed to be surprised at how badly Greed misinterpreted _everything_ , when it was all so clear to Ling.

 _Hey, Greed,_ Ling called out, his own barely buried emotions turning his exasperation sharper than perhaps it would have been at another time. _Is this what you meant when you were talking about obtaining the whole world?_ Ling had always assumed it to be a vague proclamation, a goal that was never meant to be met, but Ed had said that Truth also called itself the World, and having that power would certainly make grabbing hold of the literal world a lot easier.

 _Yeah, once I get that, everything in the world will be mine!_ There was a manic energy to Greed’s voice that wasn’t quite right, a certain desperation that Ling hadn’t noticed before. _That just might fill the emptiness inside me! It could quench the thirst I’ve had ever since I was born!_

 _You’re despicable, Greed_ , Ling said, utterly fed up. He knew that the direct approach tended to only run into brick walls, but he was so tired, and he had been stuck with this homunculus who didn’t understand the first thing about himself for so long, and he no longer had the patience.

Ling knew that Greed had all the pieces. Greed had said that his dead friends were irreplaceable himself, and he had talked about the increased emptiness he felt after remembering everything he had lost. Surely he was able to feel Ling’s pain at losing Fu and connect it to his own pain. Ling just didn’t understand how he couldn’t put it all together and realize that ruling the world would do nothing to fill his emptiness. _What you really want is something else._

He felt Greed’s heart skip a beat, his breath catch ever so slightly, everything teetering on the edge of falling over. Just when Ling thought he might have a chance at making a breakthrough, the conviction came rushing in twice as strong, twice as angry. “You keep quiet, brat! I’m Greed! Whatever I want, I get!”

And then he jumped off the ledge, into the fray.

* * *

With everything that had happened, the Promised Day felt like approximately five days stacked in one, and Ling was exhausted in more ways than he could count. In just the past few minutes, Greed had attempted to attack Father and gotten rescued, Ed had lost an arm and regained his old one, and Al had possibly died, and it all was just so much.

It probably wasn’t the best time to try and bring up Greed’s true desires, especially when he had so firmly refused to consider it such a short time ago, but Ling had no patience left for any of this, and the opportunity was right in front of him. He could _feel_ Greed’s longing as he watched all of their friends and allies cheer Ed on as he charged Father. There was only so much obliviousness Ling could take, and he had reached his limit.

 _Greed,_ he called out. _This is what you wanted so badly. Am I right?_ He was certain that he was, and if he could just hear Greed admit his true feelings after so much time spent denying them, Ling could die happy.

 _Yeah, you’re right,_ Greed said with a resigned sort of surprise, like he hadn’t thought about it before but had always known it deep down. _What I wanted..._ He closed his eyes and sighed. _Was to have friends like these._

Six months ago, Ling wouldn’t have believed Greed. He hadn’t been all that confident that Greed was as truthful as he claimed, and even if what he said wasn’t a lie, him sharing that information with Ling would have had to have been a manipulation tactic.

Four months ago, Ling would have teased him. Something like, ‘Wow, really? I never would have guessed, with how fast you took to having the others team up with you.’ He would have known enough not to bring up Greed’s old friends and the happiness that had been destroyed with them, but he would have thought about it.

Two months ago, full of frustration at Greed’s continued obliviousness, Ling would have snapped, ‘Took you long enough!’ Even if he was feeling particularly patient that day, his relief at _finally_ hearing Greed admit it would have blinded him to tact.

In the present, however, Ling remained quiet. Grief and exhaustion weighed down on him, and there was a part of him that thought if loving people could end like this, no wonder Greed had tried so hard to deny that he could. It had taken what had almost been the literal end of the world for Greed to truly realize what he wanted most. There was a gravity and vulnerability to Greed’s words that Ling wasn’t sure he would have noticed if their walls weren’t already so down, and Ling wanted to respect that.

He only had some idea of how Greed believing he was made up of just one emotion for so long had affected him, much less how the loss of the people he cared about played into that. Still, he understood enough to know that overcoming all that to admit the truth to another person had been a big struggle. And even if Ling was objectively the most likely candidate, he was glad that Greed had trusted _him_ with that information.

That quiet moment between them ended soon when Ed punched Father one last time, throwing him to the ground as everybody cheered.

They had done it, Ling thought, almost in amazement. All their efforts combined had defeated Father and his forces, and they had _won_. Not everyone had survived, and Ling knew he would spend a lot of time mourning later, but the world hadn’t ended and wasn’t going to anytime soon. The feeling that wrapped him felt far too overwhelming to be called something as simple as relief.

Without warning, the world seemed to _pulse_ , red energy crackling out of Father. With the force coming off of him, it felt like standing in a typhoon that one time Ling had been in a coastal town during the summer. He almost didn’t notice everyone getting pushed away until Greed used his claws to snag the shirt of someone who was practically flying past them.

“Get a hold of yourself! What are you letting yourself get knocked around for?” Greed snapped. Despite his irritated tone, Ling could feel the worry and concern for this stranger who likely would not have felt any qualms about killing them over and over until they died for good, if the situation had been slightly different. 

“...Sorry,” the Briggs soldier stuttered out, and Ling laughed a little at the traces of bemusement in his tone.

“Stone...” came Father’s voice from several feet away as the air started to clear and the wind died down. “The philosopher’s stone!”

Greed barely had the time to look up from the soldier he was still holding onto before Father’s hand plunged into their stomach.

Even through the film of Greed’s consciousness that separated Ling from his senses, he could tell it didn’t hurt, not more than a light punch would, even though he could feel Father’s hand _inside him_ . It was the strangest of sensations, so surprising that neither of them moved, frozen for a heartbeat, until Father _pulled_ , and suddenly there was pain.

Greed looked down at the hand, clutching at it to try and remove it, to try and keep himself upright. It felt exactly the same and exactly opposite of when Greed was first placed into him, the feeling of the world slipping away, a pain that did not affect a single muscle yet tore through his thoughts like liquid agony.

“Give me your philosopher’s stone!” Father growled.

 _Fuck!_ Greed shouted as he started to be sucked away, like water down a drain. Ling had never heard Greed sound this afraid in his life.

 _Greed!_ He grabbed onto Greed, clinging with all his might, desperate to keep this soul above all the others. He had come so far and lost so much to bring back a philosopher’s stone to his father, but now he didn’t even spare a second thought to try to catch the Xerxian souls. All he wanted was Greed. He needed Greed to stay with him, to not be yanked away from him like Fu had been. He had already lost one of the most important people in his life; he didn’t know how he could survive the loss of another.

 _Dumbass! You’ll be dragged in! Let me go!_ And there was that concern mixed with sharp words that he had heard from Greed mere seconds ago, though it didn’t sound quite the same as with the soldier. There was no harshness in his tone, only a fierce kind of tenderness. Ling had wondered for a long time exactly how much he meant to Greed as a person, and now he knew. He had only ever heard that tone in Greed’s nightmares, the ones where he relived the deaths of his Devil’s Nest gang.

 _No way! I need to have you in me if I’m going to be emperor!_ And _huh_ , part of Ling thought. Maybe Greed wasn’t the only one in denial because Ling _knew_ that this meant so much more than losing his chance at becoming Emperor, and yet. He couldn’t say it. He couldn’t make it real by having it be known by another person.

There was a tiny part of him that thought if he could just pretend hard enough that Greed didn’t mean the world to him, then the universe would not be so cruel as to take him away. There was a tiny part of him that thought if only he could fool himself into believing it, it would not hurt so much when the inevitable happened.

So he held on fast, and kept holding on, and prayed that another part of his heart would not be torn away today.

 _That’s not going to happen!_ Greed said. _I was originally born from dear old Dad. The power pulling me in is greater than this body’s, and_ ** _there’s nothing I can do!_** There was panic in his voice, and of course there was when Greed was losing his body, when he was about to be reunited with his Father in the worst possible way. But there was an extra note of fear and frustration in that last part, and Ling knew that Greed felt that same helplessness every time he remembered how he was unable to save his family at the Devil’s Nest.

But Ling would not let that happen to himself. He would not go through what Greed had gone through. He would not watch as someone he _loved_ was killed right in front of him, because he was going to _do something_ , and he would not stand uselessly by like he had when Fu died, when Lan Fan lost her arm, when Greed had killed the only remnant of his true family. He was going to save Greed or die trying because he _couldn’t_ . He _couldn’t_ lose Greed, not after all this.

 _Don’t give up Greed! Tough it out!_ He could hear the terror in his own voice, that almost-sob, the desperation that filled his entire being and every thought and every atom of his body. A crack began to form in his soul at the sheer pressure of trying to keep Greed in against Father’s pull.

 _Yikes!_ Ling shouted, wincing against the tearing sensation that filled his whole being. 

Greed froze, a small sound of horror spilling from him.

 _My body!_ Self-preservation screamed at Ling to let go, but he just anchored himself in more firmly and gripped Greed even tighter. He _wasn’t_ letting go. Not for anything. Not even as the tear widened, threatening to rip him in half. After everything, he wasn’t going to let a homunculus take one more thing from him.

 _Damn it!_ Ling shouted, rage and grief and fury and everything he had felt this past day channelled into the desperate desire to keep Greed no matter how hard he had to fight.

Greed’s emotions shifted suddenly, an added layer of determination, the impression of gritted teeth. _Being the Emperor of Xing isn’t nearly as good as being king of the world,_ Greed said, his voice low and resolute, _but I guess it’s not too bad! Let’s fight together, partner!_

Relief flooded Ling at those words, and he smiled. He wasn’t going to lose Greed, not like this. Maybe they would find some way to make it out alive, some hidden reservoir of strength to win against Father. Maybe they wouldn’t. Either way, they would face it together.

After all this time, Ling had gotten so used to trusting the veracity of Greed’s words that he no longer even thought to wonder about it anymore. He could count on Greed not lying like he could count on the sun not falling out of the sky: unconditionally and without conscious thought. Greed had told him they would work together, so Ling _knew_ with all his heart that there was no possibility in the world for the future to be anything other than them holding onto each other until either Ling got torn in half or someone stopped Father.

_That’s more like—_

And then he got punched in the face.

Before he understood what was going on, he had let go and Greed had slipped out from between his fingers and out of reach. It wasn’t so much that he asked _what?_ as it was that for one instant, every barrier between them was nothing in the face of his shock.

 _This is where we say goodbye,_ Greed said, something soft and fierce in his voice, in the intensity of emotion that surrounded Ling’s soul. For a second, he could feel Greed’s thoughts like they were his own, that overwhelming protectiveness and a deep, half-buried regret. Then they turned sharper, angrier, though Ling knew that it was directed at anybody but him. _There’s no need for you to be sucked in by dear old Dad too._

That was when the realization truly hit Ling, of what Greed was doing and why. _Hold on a second, Greed! You just said we would fight together, didn’t you?!_ Because Greed never lied, so he couldn’t have just now. Greed was not leaving him behind. Ling tried to cling onto that hope as tightly as he had just been holding onto Greed, but he knew deep down that the battle was already lost.

It couldn’t be it couldn’t be it couldn’t be, part of him chanted, terror and denial bubbling together. He was almost sobbing, a part of him noticed distantly. _Sucker punching me like this is just—! I thought you never told lies! To end it like this!_

Greed laughed, loud and fake. _And you completely fell for it, you little brat!_

For an instant, Ling thought he could hate him for that. For hurting him like this and pretending it was nothing, when really it was everything. He was left utterly speechless, stunned into silence, frozen and unable to do a single thing.

_ That was my first and last lie ever, _ Greed said, his voice a little more genuine, a little more tender. Ling’s eyes widened, the weight of what Greed had done hitting him all over again. He didn’t  _ want _ this, he wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out.  _ Lan Fan has a philosopher’s stone. So you don’t even need me anymore, kid. _

_ But I do...  _ Ling whispered. How could Greed be talking about a stone at a time like this? As if out of all the reasons he couldn’t bear to let go of Greed,  _ this _ was one of them. As if Greed was still nothing more than a means to an end.

Ling had always been good at wanting what he was supposed to want, but it didn’t feel like it now. It wasn’t that he _didn’t_ want the philosopher’s stone so he could rule Xing and protect his people. But. There was a selfish part of him that wanted Greed even more than that, more than the power he could give Ling, the practical use that he had. He wanted Greed for his own sake, and there was a part of him that couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to fully come to terms with that.

Greed laughed one last time, the sound echoing through their minds as the last bit of him began to drain away.

 _Wait!_ Ling cried out, reaching to hold him back, even though he knew it was too late, even though he knew that there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop it. _Wait! Greed!_ he screamed.

“Hey, Lan Fan!” Greed shouted, looking up with their physical body.

 _No no no no no no no,_ Ling whispered, but Greed’s control was iron tight, and he couldn’t stop Greed or contact Lan Fan or do _anything_.

Through their shared vision, he could see Lan Fan flying through the air, her knives out. He watched as she came closer, a moment infinitely long and all too short.

 _Later_ , Greed said, one last wave of affection sent his way before Lan Fan’s knife came down, breaking the connection between Father and Ling.

And then Greed was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention of past underage sex again  
> As always, Greed’s survival comes from hummingfly’s comic: https://humming-fly.tumblr.com/post/172088797175/humming-fly-instead-of-continuing-through-the, in which Ling chucks half of the liquid philosopher’s stone that Lan Fan has at Greed when his soul is floating off, reviving him in his old body. Because what do you mean that wasn’t canon

“Fuck you,” was the first thing that Ling said once Greed had crashed back to the ground.

Greed opened his mouth, still looking rather stunned. “Ling—”

“ _ Fuck. You _ .” Ling dropped his eyes to the ground in front of him, unable to look at Greed in that body that was entirely unfamiliar yet somehow completely right. 

Next to them, Ed punched right through Father’s weakened body, souls spilling out of him like a swarm of smoke. Father was spouting off some words as he died, and everyone else was watching him, but Ling could barely focus. Relief and grief and everything else battled in his mind, too loud and too quiet all at once. He could hardly make sense of what was going on inside his head much less outside of it. Ling sank to his knees, still avoiding Greed’s gaze.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Greed carefully sit up. “Ling—” he started again. His hand moved towards Ling, and sixteen years of assassination attempts had Ling flinching away before he could stop himself. Greed’s hand dropped. Ling didn’t need to look over to his other side to see Lan Fan glaring daggers at Greed.

Ling turned his head away from Greed, trying to hide the tear falling down his face. He couldn’t start sobbing, not here.

He sat there for a long time as Ed did some more alchemy in the background. Neither Greed nor Lan Fan moved from his side. He tried to think, to get a hold of himself, but there was only a ringing emptiness in his head. His thoughts felt wispy like fog, and his breaths came in short and shallow.

“We need to go back to Xing,” Ling said quietly to Lan Fan after a bit.

She nodded.

“Well, you don’t need me then, since you still have half a stone,” Greed said. Even with different vocal chords, Ling could hear how fake his casualness was. “I’ll just be on my way, and—”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Ling snapped, his heart full of anger and betrayal and shaky relief _. _ “I’m not letting go of you now.”

“But—”

“You will do as the young lord says,” Lan Fan said, her voice like shards of glass. Ling heard Greed gulp.

“We need to...” Ling swallowed. “We need to get Fu’s body. And talk to Mei. And say goodbye to the Elrics.”

Lan Fan nodded and extended her hand to help Ling up. He took it, rising onto trembling legs.

“Thanks,” Ling said, his voice quiet and cracked, as he began walking forward. He didn’t look back, but he didn’t relax until he heard Greed’s footsteps pick up behind him.

* * *

They caught the first train for Youswell, arriving at the mining town not long after sunset. Deciding that it was probably best to stock up on supplies and wait until the next morning to set out across the desert, they had booked two rooms at an inn, one for Mei and one for everybody else. The receptionist had made an odd expression at four people requesting two single rooms, but Ling had been too tired to try to explain that Greed didn’t need to sleep and Lan Fan would be too busy guarding them.

Ling had not had control over his body for this long since he and Greed had teamed up with Ed and the chimeras. This wasn’t something he should feel sad about, he thought.

He had barely looked at Greed that whole day. Just the idea of Greed not being in his head, not there to feel the pulse between his ears or the rustle of his thoughts, no longer someone who was practically a part of him, was almost more than he could handle. Ling had caught impressions of Greed’s old body in his memories, the shape of his hands, the curve of his belly, but nothing like this. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around Greed having a face that wasn’t his.

He sat slouched in the wooden chair, arms resting on the small table as he stared out the window. The clarity of sensation from being in control was hardly a new thing, with his regular chances to get out, but somehow with it lasting so long, he had grown tired of the never-ending shifts of noise and light and touch. The consistent pressure against his back and elbows was almost a relief.

This silence between them couldn’t last forever, Ling knew. The sky was almost completely dark, and he knew if he waited much longer to act, he would probably start falling asleep before the conversation could be finished. No matter how angry Ling was, no matter how much his heart hurt from all that he had lost today and all that he could have lost, he had to talk to Greed at some point.

“Hey, Lan Fan, can you go out and buy some food?” Ling asked eventually, a lightness in his tone that didn’t quite belong. He glanced at Lan Fan who was standing by the door, careful to avoid looking at the other corner where Greed was sitting.

“My lord,” she said. Her tone was flat, but Ling could hear the question and caution in it.

“I’ll be fine here,” Ling said, gesturing around at the room. “A homunculus is a pretty good defense against attackers, it turns out. And nobody even knows we’re here.”

She frowned at him.

“Just—go out and scout for danger,” Ling said, then immediately felt guilty. He didn’t want to take her and her efforts for granted anymore, he reminded himself. He let some of his false cheeriness drop. “Please. Or talk to Mei and make sure she’s settling in her room alright.” The two of them seemed to be getting on better than he expected, and Ling wondered if something had happened between them while he had been possessed by Greed. A question for later, he figured.

_ Please, _ he thought, meeting her eyes.  _ I think I need to be alone with Greed right now. To sort things out. I’ll be fine. Just give me some time. _ There was no longer anybody who could hear him, but he thought Lan Fan got enough of the message, because after a long moment she gave him a short nod and left the room.

“And bring back good food!” he called behind her. “Even you thought the stew from the train was awful.”

Silence reigned in her wake, and after living so long with someone around to fill all the empty gaps, Ling didn’t know what to do.

There was a rustle from the armchair on the other side of the room, then Ling felt Greed’s qi shift across the room and heard the sound of bouncing bed springs. “Ha, too slow, loser!” Greed’s loud voice echoed in the still room, but Ling was grateful for it anyway. “This bed is mine now! You’ll just have to sleep on the floor!”

Greed was trying to provoke him, Ling thought. He wanted to give some sort of response. There were a thousand things he wanted to tell Greed, each fighting against the others to come out, but every time he tried, every time he thought he could pick one to start with, his throat got choked up, and he couldn’t say anything at all.

Greed chuckled, a little sadly. “Heh, guess with me bugging you for so long, you’re probably pretty glad to have some peace and quiet, eh? Can’t blame you for not wanting to talk to me.” His voice tapered off at the end, and that was simply so wrong that Ling could not let it stand.

“Don’t—” Ling cried out, his breath catching as tears sprung to his eyes. “Don’t be such a dumbass!” He finally turned to look at Greed, sprawled out over the bed, hands tucked behind his head. If Ling hadn’t been inside his head for half a year, he might not have noticed the very slight tension in Greed’s jaw, the way the casualness seemed more projected than genuine.

“Ha, such a dirty mouth! Who’s been teaching you to swear like that?”

All the dams Ling had been building up all day broke, and finally he started to cry, hysterical laughter crawling up his throat. “ _ You _ . You taught me!  _ Idiot _ !”

“Huh, I did, didn’t I,” Greed said. His voice sounded proud, but the smile on his face was so resigned that it broke Ling’s heart. “Well, looks like I’ve taught you everything I know already, so there’s not really much point in me sticking around.”

_ You still don’t get it, do you _ , Ling thought, wanting to scream. “Don’t you understand, Greed? I can’t lose you. I didn’t almost get torn in half trying to hold onto you just to let go of you now. I mean, if you really don’t want to stay, I wouldn’t force you, but I  _ want  _ you to stay!” What could he possibly say to Greed to get through that thick skull of his? Ling wondered. “You said I was yours all those months ago, but don’t you see? You’re mine too.”

Greed lay there frozen, his mouth slightly open as he stared at Ling. “I... you like me?”

“Obviously!” Ling said, and suddenly he couldn’t take any more of this nonsense. He stood up from the chair and launched himself at Greed, crashing down on top of him, like holding him now could make up for having been ripped apart earlier. “I hate you so much,” he muttered into Greed’s collarbone.

“Ow, you’re on my shoulder,” Greed complained. His arms had come out from under his head when Ling jumped at him, almost defensively. Out of the corner of his eye, Ling could see them hover awkwardly in the air.

“Asshole,” Ling said, hugging Greed even tighter. “You deserve it.”

After one long, hesitant moment, Greed’s hands came to rest on the back of Ling’s head and shoulders, gentle in a way Ling had only rarely seen. “I couldn’t let you die for me,” Greed said quietly.

“Do you think I felt any differently?” Ling demanded. “That losing you would have been any less painful for me?” Growing up as royalty, he had been forced to get used to the idea of people laying down their lives for him, even though that was the last thing he wanted. He had hoped that Greed, of all the people he cared about, would have been exempt from this.

Greed was silent for a moment. “Oh.”

Ling buried his face into Greed’s chest, the flow of tears starting back up again. It was a little uncomfortable like this, the bony bits and hard edges of an unfamiliar body pressed against him. He wasn’t used to touching people, especially not so much or for so long like this, and it felt kind of weird. He wouldn’t have given it up for the world.

Everything was different now, with Fu gone, and Greed in his own body, and Xing’s throne only one desert away from being his. The world had almost ended, but it hadn’t, and Ling needed to figure out how to start back up again. It was all too much to handle, but Greed trapped beneath him felt like a reassurance that no matter how much things changed, at least he had this much to hold onto.

He needed to talk to Lan Fan as well, he thought. They had been apart for longer than they had ever been before, with the two of them about to be launched into a storm of politics without Fu, they had some things to sort out.

That was for later though, once she came back. For now, Ling focused on the warmth of someone he cared about who was so very much alive and not dead.

“Don’t do that again,” Ling said. “Don’t lie to me and hurt me like that.” 

“I won’t,” Greed said, uncharacteristically serious. His thumb slid across the back of Ling’s head, a gentle stroke that made Ling feel more safe and cared for than he had thought a small action could convey. “Not like I could punch you again, anyway, without Lan Fan cutting my hand off.”

Ling couldn’t help it. A giggle that was only slightly hysterical bubbled out of him before he could stop it.

“Well, it’s true!” Greed said petulantly, and Ling laughed harder. “What?!”

“I’m so glad you’re alive,” Ling said, in lieu of a response, his laughter dying down.

“Same,” Greed said quietly. Ling could no longer hear Greed’s thoughts or feel his emotions like they were his own, but at this moment, he didn’t need to.

“I hate you so much,” Ling groaned, and it was only because he was paying attention that he felt Greed tense ever so slightly. He quickly changed tracks. “I can’t believe I almost tore myself in two trying to stop you from dying for me, and you still couldn’t tell that I love you!”

Now Greed was really tense, though Ling didn’t think it was in a bad way. Greed had always frozen up when someone expressed any amount of affection for him, and even though Ling had only ever seen it from the inside, he could still recognize it now.

“I want you to stay around forever so you can keep annoying me and try to make up for lying to me until I’ve forgiven you completely,” Ling confessed quietly, surprising himself with his sincerity. “I want to keep surprising you by showing that I care about you, and make fun of officials together when we rule Xing, and drive Lan Fan crazy with our antics, and figure out some way to keep in contact with the Elrics so we can tease them too, and just. Keep being together.” Ling didn’t think he had ever been this open and vulnerable about his emotions in his life, but it seemed that losing one person he cared deeply about then almost losing another could do that to him.

“I—I’m not going to leave.” Greed’s voice cracked and wavered, and Ling looked up to see his face.

“Are you crying?” Ling asked, both eyebrows raised high.

“Homunculi don’t cry!” Greed said.

“That’s not a no...” Ling said, his grin widening. He reached up to dramatically wipe Greed’s cheek. “Don’t feel bad! If someone as cool as me said they wanted to spend their life with me, I’d be crying tears of joy too.”

“Shut up, brat,” Greed snapped, but there was no heat behind it. 

“Ha, bet you wished you got put in the body of someone less annoying, but you’re stuck with me now.”

“Nah, you’re mine.” Greed met his eyes, a little hesitant, like he wasn’t quite sure it was okay.

Even once Ling had figured out that Greed claimed possession of people to express affection, Ling had still felt uncomfortable with it. He didn’t like the idea of belonging to anyone besides himself. But now, because it was Greed, because Ling had come to learn his language and what he meant by it, somehow it didn’t bother him at all anymore. He didn’t know when that had changed, but it had.

Those words were the truth, because Greed (almost) always told the truth, but they were not true in quite the same way that someone else might have meant them. It was not a claim of power over him or a call for dibs on his affection, or anything that Ling had once thought it meant. It was a promise of care and protection, a symbol of devotion, something selfish and selfless that was uniquely and exasperatingly Greed, and Ling took it for all that Greed meant by it.

Somehow, over these past six months, through Ling coming to understand Greed better and Greed starting to be more open with himself, ‘you are an object that I can control’ had turned into ‘I love you.’

“I’m yours,” he confirmed. “I’m still angry right now, but I’m yours.”

Greed stared at him, his breath caught in his throat. “There’s nothing I want more.”

Those words meant the entire world, Ling knew. They revealed a vulnerability and self-understanding that Greed had never willingly shown in the past. The best thing to do would be to respect the weight and sincerity of those words, to treat them as the precious things they were. But that wasn’t Ling, and it wasn’t really Greed either.

Ling rolled off Greed onto his side, lightly pushing at Greed. “Oh good! So then you’ll let me have the whole bed then, since you don’t want it anymore!”

“You little brat,” Greed snapped, and there was a fondness to it, even as he shoved Ling over to the side. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“No, it just means you like me more!” Ling said, grinning as he switched tactics to cling onto Greed, delighting in the fact that he could. There was still an emptiness in his head that wouldn’t likely go away any time soon, but there was at least one benefit to Greed having his own body.

“Brat,” Greed scoffed again, turnin to tickle Ling’s side. “I know all your weaknesses!”

“Hey!” Ling squeaked, and Greed instantly stopped, his hands still resting on Ling’s side. “That was cheating, screw you!” Satisfied that he was safe from further harassment, he let himself settle back against Greed, leaning his head against his shoulder.

The door suddenly burst open. “What’s going on?!” came Lan Fan’s voice, harsh enough that Ling felt the urge to hide. 

They both froze.

“Nothing!” Greed said in that too-boisterous way he had when he didn’t want someone else to know he was experiencing emotions. He lifted his head. “Ha! Your expression! You’d think I was stealing your precious prince’s virtue or something!”

“Greed,” Ling muttered.  _ Please shut up, this is embarrassing enough already!  _ he thought, though of course Greed couldn’t hear him anymore.

“Not that we were doing that in the first place! And not that he has any virtue left any—”

“Greed!” Ling hissed, his face burning up as he pressed it into Greed’s chest. He knew that Greed babbled sometimes in uncomfortable situations, but this was possibly the worst ever way to find out that Greed was intimidated by Lan Fan.

“What,” Lan Fan snapped, and Ling was never going to be able to meet her eyes again, ever. He didn’t need to, to know she was one wrong word away from stabbing Greed.

“Not with me!” Greed said quickly, before Ling could think to stop him. “Please stop doing that thing with your eyes, I swear I didn’t do anything in his body, it was before my time, honest, and—”

Ling slapped a hand over Greed’s mouth, and for another second he heard the muffled noises of Greed trying to talk before  _ finally _ he stopped.

“My lord?” Lan Fan asked, her tone less chilly but no softer than before.

“He’s telling the truth,” Ling mumbled. Of all times for Greed to uphold his ‘no lying’ rule, he thought. “Nothing bad happened, and I swear I’ll never do it again, so can we please pretend you didn’t hear that and move on with our lives? We’ve already been traumatized enough by Fu’s Ten Main Ways A Person Can Be Assassinated During Intercourse lecture, so please don’t make me go over this with you.”

“Mmfphm—?” Greed started. He pulled Ling’s hand off his mouth. “Wait, you never followed up on it when you mentioned it before.  _ Ten  _ ways?”

“Ten  _ main _ ways,” Ling confirmed miserably.

“How—”

“Okay,” Lan Fan said, her tone unreadable.

Ling finally lifted his head to see her bright red face. This was one of the people he trusted most in the world, he thought suddenly. Somehow he hadn’t really realized it until he went and found other people to trust, people who weren’t bound to him by any obligation, and discovered that as much as he cared about them, no bonding experience could match the lifetime he had shared with her. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell—”

“I don’t need to know,” Lan Fan said, not meeting his eyes. “I  _ really _ don’t. You’re not— I can’t protect you from everything, and you can make your own decisions. I realized that. While we were apart.”

In the past, Ling had always hated how it felt like Lan Fan and Fu couldn’t trust him, hated that their position as his protectors kept them from being people he could stand on equal terms with. His six months on his own had given him time to think about it from their side and come to terms with his own emotions towards them. He had assumed that once everything was over, things between them would go back to how they had been before, just with a bit more understanding on his end.

Except now he could see that Lan Fan had changed too, that maybe he wasn’t the only one to have rethought their relationship during their separation. 

This was better, Ling thought. But there was a small part of him that knew this change had been forced by her own share of hardship and trauma. If he wasn’t sure that Lan Fan would be opposed to it, he would have jumped up and dragged her into his and Greed’s embrace, so he could hold onto both of them with everything he had.

“You’ve been through a lot,” Ling said. The words were not nearly adequate for all the emotions he had, for the pain he felt knowing she suffered, the nostalgia for times that weren’t better in every way, but certainly were in some ways. But Lan Fan knew him better than anyone, and he knew he didn’t have to actually say any of that for her to know. “I’m sorry.”

“So have you,” she said quietly, and Ling saw his own feelings reflected in her eyes. Then she cleared her throat. “But don’t ever sneak out like that again. For any reason. You know how dangerous it is, especially once you become Emperor.”

Ling nodded hastily, relieved. “Don’t worry. Like I said. Not worth doing.”

Lan Fan made a face, quickly looking away. “I really don’t need to hear about it. Greed isn’t harassing you, is he? Is what I was going to ask. Because I heard your voices outside.”

“More like the brat’s harassing  _ me _ ,” Greed muttered. They both ignored him.

“No, I... He wouldn’t dare to do anything to hurt me after almost dying on me like that,” Ling said.

“Okay.” Lan Fan nodded, her eyes fixed firmly to the floor. “Let’s never speak of this again.”

“Agreed,” Ling said firmly.

“Uh,” Greed said. “Sorry about that. I thought you already knew. Or. I guess I wasn’t thinking...”

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Ling muttered, squishing his face back into Greed’s chest, like he could erase the awkwardness of the past few minutes by blocking off his sight.

“So what  _ are  _ the main ways of assassinating—”

Lan Fan made a strangled noise of disgust.

“Please don’t,” Ling said. “Seriously, I was not joking about how scarring that lecture was. We were like eleven. That was the day I decided I had to abolish the clan system. So I wouldn’t have to have kids with fifty women.”

Greed laughed, even though Ling hadn’t really been joking.

“I, um, have the food you asked for,” Lan Fan said quietly. “I can just leave it for you...”

At the reminder of food, Ling’s stomach growled. He sat up. “Food? You’ve literally saved my life,” Ling said, maybe a little more dramatically than necessary, but awkwardness still hung thick in the air.

Lan Fan held out a bag, a garlicky scent filling the air, and Ling jumped off the bed to take it. As he rifled through its contents, Lan Fan eyed Ling and Greed both, discomfort lingering in her expression. That wouldn’t do.

Ling put on his most over the top, childish and pouty expression, and whined, “Oh yeah, Lan Fan, we  _ were _ fighting over something when you came in, and you’ll take my side, right? Tell Greed that this bed is mine!”

As loyal and protective as Lan Fan was, Ling trusted her to know him well enough not to jump at the opportunity to fight or threaten Greed, that she would instead see this as the playful teasing that it was. He sat on the ground, leaning one arm against the bed to watch what happened.

Lan Fan fixed Greed with a stare and raised her eyebrows at him.

“Ah! Don’t look at me like that!” Greed immediately sat up, scooching to the side of the bed. “He can have it!”

A smirk made its way up Lan Fan’s lips, and a wave of relief hit Ling. No matter what her feelings toward Greed was, if she could find amusement in the way he acted, there was a good chance of things working out for the better between them.

“I am willing to share,” Ling said magnanimously, then immediately wondered if that was too much. Sharing a bed had connotations, and even if Greed knew that the sexual ones didn’t apply, there was still an implication of trust and closeness. Ling did trust Greed, and he liked to think that they were close, but showing it was an entirely different matter than feeling it, and he suddenly felt awkward about the whole thing. Then again, after sharing a body for so long, what was a bed?

“Ha!” Greed said, reaching out to ruffle Ling’s hair. This time, being fully able to see it coming, Ling managed to not flinch away at the sudden contact.

He didn’t think he needed to ask, but there was a part of him that had to confirm. “So... you’re coming back with me to Xing?”

“Course,” Greed said. “You’re mine, after all. I’m not letting you go now.”

Ling didn’t have to look to know that Lan Fan was making a weird face at that, but Ling could read the truth in Greed’s eyes, as unfamiliar as these particular ones might be.

“That’s good,” he said. “Because I don’t like letting go of what’s mine either.” The words felt a little weird coming out of his mouth, but he wasn’t going to give Greed the room to underestimate the depths of his care again, and if he had to speak Greed’s language to do it, he would.

With the way that Greed beamed at him, Ling knew he had been successful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Magpie for Fu’s “Ten Main Ways A Person Can Be Assassinated During Intercourse lecture” as well as some of the ideas and dialogue in that part
> 
> I started writing a short companion piece that is Greed’s pov throughout some of this fic, which is why this is now part of a series, so expect that to come out at some point in the future
> 
> I'm on tumblr as Buffintruder too


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